Flood displaces scores in Saptari

RAJBIRAJ, JULY 11

Scores of families have been displaced after floodwaters swamped their houses in Saptari’s Hanumannagar Kankalini Municipality.

According to Hunumannagar Kandalini Municipality-13 Ward Chair Bindeshwor Yadav, some 75 families of Gobargadha have been rescued and temporarily kept at Rastriya Adharbhut Preliminary School after floodwaters from the Saptakoshi River gushed into their homes.

“As the water level keeps increasing in the river, preparations are on to shift more families at the risk of flood to a safer place,” said the Ward Chair Yadav.

Superintendent of Police Krishna Prasai said people in the settlements nearby the river have been told to remain on high alert in view of the flood risk. Increasing water flow in the Saptakoshi River was measured at 276,555 cusec at 3:00pm this afternoon. As a result, a red light has been flashed at the Koshi Barrage to indicate the risk factor for the people living nearby the river.

Given the surge in water level, 40 out of 56 sluice gates at the Koshi Barrage were opened, said District Police Office, Saptari.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 12, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.