Banke, August 16:

Up to 350 households in Chhitaipurwa, Tepari, Simrahana of Holiya village development committee Wards No 5 and 6 are facing the risk of soil erosion and flooding by Rapti river in Banke district.

Locals said they needed to be shifted as the threat of flood looms large.

They said Rapti river has started eroding the road near the villages.

“The likelihood of the river inundating the villages is very high,” the worried villagerse said.

“Some 15 families of Tepari have already moved to India due the floods,” Mishreelal Yadav of Chhitaipurwa said, adding, “Others need to be evacuated from here early.”

“All the three villages were inundated and crops were damaged, however, no body arrived to provide relief,” Yadav said.

As dams stopped the water flow in Sotiya and Gandhali streams, villagers in Simrahana, Chhitaipurwa and Tepari villages are at risk. “We are finding ways to shift people to safer places on time,” Banke Chief District Officer Narendraraj Sharma said. Floods has made lives miserable in the western region.