Bardiya, August 15:

Incessant rainfall since the last two days has flooded parts of Bardiya. People in the district, who had barely begun recovering from the travails of the floods that assailed them for more than three weeks, have relapsed into despair.

The district branch of the Red Cross said more than 10 villages have been submerged by the fresh round of flood. While freed Kamaiyas are suffering the most, a majority of the people has been left homeless.

Bardiya Red cross acting chief Mahesh Gautam told this daily that the fresh flood has displaced 307 families and killed dozens of cattle.

Some 150 families of freed Kamaiyas have been displaced from Rajapur area across the Karnali river.

Four VDCs in Rajapur are submerged, while 32 households in Belasa of Bhimapur-7 VDC and 50 household in Manau and Khairichandanpur have been displaced. The displaced are sheltering in local schools and relatives’ houses. Contact between the headquarters and 11 VDCs of Rajapur has terminated after the steamer services were suspended.

The rains have led to the water level in the river to rise and more areas of Bardiya district are getting flooded, said the Red Cross. District minister of the Red Cross Keshav Gautam said there was no possibility of rushing relief to the displaced in Rajapur as transportation was impossible.

Eighty families in Sutiya village of the Thakurdwar VDC also have been displaced. Wards 2 and 3 of the Mangragadhi VDC are also submerged and scores of families have been displaced. The district police office said 15 households were displaced from wards 6 and 7 of Belbazar in Baniyabhar VDC.

Meanwhile, the Nepalgunj municipality, Bankattuwa, Holiya, Fattehpur, Bethani and a dozen other VDCs in Banke have been inundated again due to continuous rainfall that has been lashing the areas in the past two days.

Ganeshpur, Salyanibagh, New Road, Bilaspur, Dhambojhi of Nepalgunj are under knee-deep water. The weather office said Nepalgunj received over 148 mm of rainfall over the last 12 hours. DSP Krishna Hari Sharma said armed and civil police teams have been deployed to clear waterlogging.