Heavy rain inundates Saptari villages yet again

Rajbiraj, July 5

After a brief respite, floods caused by incessant rainfall have once again hit Saptari villages.

Earlier, around 1,500 people were displaced in villages across the district due to the floods caused by the heavy rain on Friday night. They had started returning home with relief materials but floodwater has driven them out of their homes yet again.

Large areas in villages such as Tilathi, Pakari, Mainakaderi, Launiyan, Maleth, Sakarpura, Rampura Malhaniyan, Rupani, Basabitti, Lokharam in Rajbiraj Municipality and Wards No 2, 9 and 10 of the municipality have been flooded following incessant rainfall since Tuesday.

At places, the accumulated water has risen up to four feet.

In Tilathi, 90 households in Wards No 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 are the worst hit. While most villagers there have taken refuge at their relatives’ places, others are staying at higher grounds waiting for the floodwaters to recede.

The floods have disrupted transportation on the Rajbiraj-Kunauli road after some 100-metre stretch of the road was washed away.

The Tilathi-based customs and police post and Gajendranarayan Singh Industrial Estate have also been water-logged.

Sixty-odd houses in Trikol, Bhediya, Rupani and Birendra Bazaar have been inundated by the swollen Mahulikhola and Dudhailakhola.

In Lokharam, floodwaters entered houses and swept away construction material kept on the premises of Rastriya Primary School.

Schools in the flood-hit villages across the district have been closed for a week.

Floods have also destroyed crops cultivated in a large area.

Meanwhile, locals have asked the government to find a long-term solution to the flood menace rather than focusing on the post-flood relief distribution.

The local administration has started repairing the flood-damaged embankments with the help of Nepal Police and Armed Police Force personnel.