Bara, August 24

Two hundred and fifty-one people from 47 flood-displaced families in Bara are in need of rehabilitation.

The families have been taking shelter in public places, including community schools and cattle farm for want of rehabilitation.

According to Chief District Officer of Bara Bijaya Narayan Manandhar, 40 people from eight families are taking refuge in Anchit Secondary School building located at Pheta Rural Municipality, 45 people from seven families in a cattle farm at Ramauli of Jitpur Simara Sub-metropolitan City and 106 people from 15 families are sheltering in Nepal Rastriya Primary School building at Ganganagar of Simraunagadh Municipality of the district.

Similarly, a total of 60 people from 12 households are staying in Manjushree Primary School building at Ramthali of Nijgadh Municipality.

CDO Manandhar said as many as 15,000 people from 1,200 families in the district were adversely affected in the recent floods that hit several parts of the Tarai region.

Relief distribution for flood victims of the district is under way with the initiatives of various local and other organisations and political parties. “Details of losses incurred in the floods are being collected and we will make the data public in a day or two,” said a government official.

A preliminary estimate puts the losses from the recent natural disaster in the agriculture sector in the district at around Rs 1.5 billion, according to District Agriculture Development Office, Bara. The floods also damaged a huge amount of  banana, sugarcane and other cash crops. Likewise, a large number of cattle were swept away in the floods. “Cattle and poultry worth around Rs 7 million were swept away in the deluge,” said District Livestock Office, Bara Chief Devnandan Sah.

Meanwhile, flood victims of Ramthali in Nijgadh Municipality complained that only victims, who had access to the road and others who were from main marketplaces had been provided with relief items, but those who were located elsewhere had been deprived of relief materials.

“A total of 60 people from 12 households of this locality have been sheltering at Manjushree Primary School building,” Sita Ram Khatiwada, a flood victim, said.