KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 19

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed the authorities concerned to make arrangements for immediate rescue and relief of those affected by flood, landslide, and inundation following heavy rainfall in various regions of the country.

PM Deuba issued this directive to Minister of Home Affairs Bal Krishna Khand this morning. Following this, Home Minister Khand instructed the bodies under the ministry to mitigate disaster risk and to protect peoples' life and property from disaster-related incidents. He has directed all the security bodies and the local administrations to work without any lack in rescue and relief work.

Chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Anil Pokharel said along with the home minister's directives, assurance of full support has been received from the ministry for the rescue and relief operations.

The security bodies and the local administrations of the affected districts have mobilised in disaster management works. Chief Executive Officer Pokharel said request for rescue by helicopter have been received from places where people have been stranded due to flooding in various districts, and the necessary process for the same has been initiated accordingly.

According to him, cloudy weather has developed throughout the country since October 17 and the western region of the country has been affected the most due to flood.

Big rivers such as the Seti, Mahakali, Karnali, West Rapti, among others, and their tributaries are flooded.

A person each has died and has been injured in Dadeldhura and Kalikot district due to the disaster.

Two hundred houses have been inundated in Bhimdatta Municipality of Kanchanpur. The local administration in Kanchanpur district has said rescue efforts are on in the area. NDRRMA Chief Pokharel said that the water level and current in the Mahakali River was high and the people in the nearby at-risk settlements have been evacuated to safer places.

A police office in Bajhang district has been inundated and police personnel there have moved to safe zone. People in settlements close to the Karnali river have been affected in Bardiya district due to rise in water level in the river.

The ministry stated that the Beni-Mustang road, Bhimdatta highway of Doti, the Chaukhutte- Achham-Bajura road section in Achham, the Jayaprithvi highway of Bajhang, and the Martadi-Kolti and the Sanphe-Martadi road sections in Bajura district have been obstructed due to flood and landslide.

The rain and flood has also damaged the harvest-ready paddy crop in many areas, affecting the farmers.

The ministry has urged people in these districts to remain safe as there is possibility of rain until tomorrow.

A version of this article appears in the print on October 20, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.