ITAHARI, JULY 10
Ninety-eight-year-old Pahalman Khatri of Poyajung of Phedap Rural Municipality had childhood memories of Hyatrung waterfall when Hyatrung fell with a big volume of water.
In the last few decades, the level of water has decreased, said Khatri.
''When we were small kids, we used to go near Hyatrung waterfall to collect grass for cattle,'' said Khatri, ''We used to see a good volume of water then.'' Khatri does not have his village friends now. All have passed away.
However, Khatri is still nostalgic about Hyatrung waterfall. ''There used to be water in all 12 months of the year,'' Khatri recalled, adding, ''This is not seen these years as water level decreases rapidly after Dashain,'' Khatri said Hyatrung does have a good volume of water only for six months starting from Jestha to Kartik. In the remaining six months, water level is almost non-existent.
Even local officials are concerned about the decreasing waterfall volume.
''We see a good volume of water in the waterfall only for four to six months,'' said Bhogendra Shrestha, chief administrative officer of Phedap Rural Municipality. The waterfall located at the border of Ward No 4 (Sandu) and 5 (Ishibu) has not been able to attract many visitors because of decreased volume.
''Millions of rupees have been invested in the name of railing, foot track and other structures. But, not a penny has been invested on increasing the water volume.'' Hyatrung is a 365-metre-tall waterfall of Nepal which is the tallest waterfall in Province 1 and the second tallest in Nepal. Nepal's tallest waterfall is Pachal waterfall, which is 381-metre-tall and is located in the Kalikot district of Karnali Province.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 11, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
