GAIGHAT, SEPTEMBER 4

Home Minister Balkrishna Khand has said the government will make every effort possible to stop the erosion caused by the Koshi River.

"Every year, Koshi erodes its banks including to its west in Udayapur, but little has happened to control the erosion so far. Now that we are in the government, we'll take necessary steps to stop the erosion," said the minister, while making a field visit of the area eroded by the Koshi River in Belaka Municipality.

"The government is reaching out to India through our diplomatic channel and the home front has started working by forming both short and long-term plans to control the scourge of erosion caused by the Koshi River here," he added.

Former minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet, Sher Bahadur Tamang, Home Secretary Tek Nath Pande and chief district officers of Sunsari and Udayapur, among others, had reached the encroached site with Minister Khand to inspect the eroded area.

On the occasion, Belaka Municipality Mayor Durga Kumar Thapa presented the minister's team with data on erosion of over 10,000 hectares of arable land by the river so far and demanded that the government make concerted efforts to stop the erosion caused by the river.

Many places, including Koshi Tappu, Bahundanda, Kranti Tole, Bhagalpur, Ramnagar, SBC Tapu, Sisauli, Shreelanka Tappu, Chiliya Tapu of Belaka Municipality have been affected by floods and erosion caused by the Saptakoshi River.

A version of this article appears in the print on September 5 2021, of The Himalayan Times.