Thousands of people in Sunsari and Udaypur districts were displaced after the swollen Koshi River breached the embankment at Lahure Khoch Dumbribote in Belaka Municipality, Udaypur in the wee hours of Wednesday. People of Sunsari's Barahkshetra and Udaypur's Belaka Municipality have been badly affected after the flooded river breached the poorly-built embankment. The Koshi has returned to its old course towards the west after a hiatus of 40 years, as per the government authorities. Although no human casualties were reported, the flood has submerged a large part of the recently planted paddy fields, displacing thousands of people who could not take their belongings and cattle along with them. Although the local administration deployed the security personnel to control further erosion of the embankment, they failed to control the flood. The flood inundated at least half a dozen human settlements in Udaypur and Sunsari's Barahkeshetra area, including Sri Lanka Tapu, where more than 5,000 people were marooned. A preliminary report suggests that more than 25,000 people were severely affected as a result of the flood. The displaced people are currently taking shelter in government buildings and public schools. Meanwhile, the Koshi barrage has opened 46 of the 56 gates following the breach of the embankment. As per the recording gauge, on Wednesday night, the river was discharging 243,180 cusecs of water.

The Saptakoshi is a highly unpredictable river, which has been changing its course over the last 150 years from Jhapa in the east to Saptari and Siraha in the west. After India built a dam at Hanuman Nagar, close to the Nepal-India border, in 1962, the river has been depositing heavy silt as high as 12 feet inside the embankments built on both sides of the river banks. All the settlements close to the river lie at a lower level as compared to the river bed, posing a high risk of inundation and floods in the areas whenever any part of the embankments breaks. Earthquakes have also played a major role in changing the Koshi's course. Until 1989, when the eastern part of the country was jolted by the tremor, the river used to flow from the same area now inundated by the flood. After the 1989 quake, the river shifted its course to the east.

This is not the first time that the river, which carries heavy sediments during the monsoon, has inundated the settlements. The river hadalso breached its embankment in Sunsari in 2008, leaving thousands of people homeless. Those who were displaced by the 2008 floods have yet to receive aid from the government. This time also, the affected families need government support for their survival as they have lost their paddy crops planted on thousands of hectares of land. Also the people have been living in the area, where the river once used to flow. The inundation problem could have been averted had the government authorities repaired the embankments well before the onset of the monsoon. As the flooded river has already damaged the houses and farmlands, it is the duty of the government to provide immediate relief to the affected families and relocate them to safer places if possible. A long-term plan is needed to tackle the problem the Saptakoshi River poses to human settlements lying close to the river.

Prepare for polls

The coalition partners in the government have agreed to hold the elections to the House of Representatives (HoR) and the Provincial Assemblies (PA) on November 20, two days later than the date proposed by the Election Commission. As per the constitutional provision, the elections must be held before the expiry of the five-year term of the HoR and PA on December 8. Unlike in the previous elections, the EC is holding the polls on a single date this time. The constitution has provisioned a 275-member HoR, of whom 165 will be elected through the firstpast-the-post electoral system and the remaining 110 through proportional representation. Similarly, there are 550 provincial assembly seats – 330 to be chosen directly by the people and the remaining 220 through proportional representation.

If the local elections are any guide and recent political developments, then the parties are likely to see tough competition not only among themselves but also from independent candidates. The people are extremely frustrated with the poor or non-performance of the political leaders, which means the parties must select candidates who are truly committed to their constituencies.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 5, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.