200 landslide-hit people of Kalikot in dire straits

Kalikot, August 20:

Landslides triggered by incessant rainfall have affected 200 people of 25 households in Myanma, the district headquarters of Kalikot. “We were displaced a week ago. Children have no option except to sleep on chairs and bench at the DDC office. They have been surviving on noodles and biscuits,” Padam Bahadur Shahi (69) of Manma-5 said. Children have been

deprived of sleep and have fallen ill, he said.

“People displaced from their houses in Manma have been putting up in the DDC guesthouse and VDC hall. They are having a hard time,” a local human rights activist Kali Bahadur Malla said.

Acting CDO Omkar Prasad Neupane said authorities concerned had been told to provide relief. SI Dilip Kumar Bhandari said five persons, who had been missing in landslide at Sukatiya VDC 8 Dahachaur since Monday morning, were found dead yesterday.

According to him, 13 persons have died in the landslide in course of two weeks. An all-party meeting had appealed to the government for relief, to no avail, he added.

The landslide has added to miseries of people, who have been hit hard by a shortage of food grains, vice-chairman of the Nepali Congress in Kalikot, Amma Bahadur Shahi said.

Student missing

TIKAPUR: A student went missing when a boat capsized in the Kandra river in Aambari of Khailad VDC-8 of Kailali on Wednesday. Police identified the missing as Kirti Kumari Chaudhary

(16). an eighth grader at a local school. Twelve students were on board, inspector Bhajani Manohar Bhatta said, adding that 11 students had been rescued. — HNS

Warning ignored: Government

KATHMANDU: The Department of Water Induced Disaster (DWID) said on Wednesday that havoc caused by the Tinau river could have been minimised had local people paid heed to government warnings. A swollen Tinau had swept away two persons and damaged around 60 houses along the river on Monday. The flooding has caused damage to an island formed in the middle of the river due to sedimentation. Over 250 households in the island have been affected. “The people knew living in that area was risky. Despite our request, more and more people moved into that area,” said Shyam Rajbhandari, deputy director-general at the DWID. Rajbhandari said the DWID had decided to launch projects in areas that were prone to water-induced disasters. “We have decided to launch at least two major projects this year in Mugling-Narayanghat area and Sindhuli-Bardibas area,” he said. The Mugling-Narayanghat Water-Induced Disaster Prevention Project (worth Rs 10 million) and Sindhuli-Bardibas Water-Induced Disaster Prevention Project (worth Rs 5 million) are part of a Japanese project. — HNS