BAJURA, JUNE 20
Human settlements in Martadi, Bajura, are at high risk of landslides mainly due to haphazard road construction without conducting environmental impact assessment.
Local levels have constructed roads using excavator without meeting the required criteria.
Locals said the roads constructed by the local levels in the name of development had put many houses in the area in peril.
Many houses, including a house belonging to Deputy Mayor Kabita Bista of Badimalika Municipality are at a high risk of landslides as mud above the road has started falling due to continuous rainfall for a week. The mud entered the houses last night.
Nepali Army, Nepal Police and locals have been deployed to remove the debris from houses.
According to Bajura District Administration Office, more than fifteen families in the area are at high risk of landslides.
Power supply in the area has also been disrupted due to landslides in Martadi. The road from Thapabada Chaudil to Khulamanch was constructed without consulting technicians and engineers.
Dozens of settlements above and below the road are at high risk due to unplanned road construction. Balmandir Basic Level School is also at high risk of landslide.
Santosh Singh, a local, said that the problems surfaced because excavators were used indiscriminately to open road tracks. Similarly, an under-construction bus park is also at high risk of landslide in the area.
Ward 8 Chairman Prakash Rawal of Badimalika Municipality said that the gabion built to stop the landslide near the bus park had already been damaged.
Likewise, Bajura District Police Office is also at high risk.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 21, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
