Rajbiraj, November 4:

Water resource experts today accused the governments of Nepal and India of ignoring the

problems associated with Saptakoshi floods.

Speaking at an interaction organised here today by Saptari chapter of Saptakoshi Flood Victims’ Society (SFVS), former minister and water resources expert Dipak Gyawali said the repair work on the breached embankments was not being done in a dependable manner. “It is not possible to tame the river merely by piling sand. Such a repair will not solve the problem,” he added.

Accusing the Nepali and Indian governments of not taking the issue seriously, Gyawali stressed the need to search solutions to the problem at the civil society and intellectuals’ level.

Chairman of Water and Energy Consumers’ Forum Nepal Ram Chandra Chataut alleged that the construction of pilot channel was going on without any concrete plan. “The channel under construction now will not bear even the winter rain,” Chataut claimed.

Saying that sand has desertified all arable land in the affected areas, Chataut said cultivation would not be possible there for the next five decades. “There is a need to provide jobs to the flood victims and rehabilitate them. But the government is not showing any concern to solve this problem,” he said.

Chairman of the Saptari chapter of SFVS Dev Narayan Yadav said the government was doing nothing apart from resettling the victims.

“Though the flood has affected over 65,000 people in Nepal and over 35 lakhs in India, the governments of both the countries are not showing any concern to address their plight,” Yadav said.

Earlier, a joint team of water resource experts from Nepal and India inspected the flood-hit areas in Saptari and Sunsari districts.