Dipayal, August 1

As many as 68 families were displaced after the local stream gushed into the human settlement in Tiltali village of Doti on June 20.

A landslide on the road above the village had blocked the local stream causing it to gush into the village. Within half-an-hour after the incident, cattle was buried in cowsheds and many villagers were displaced.

This is just an example of how roads constructed sans feasibility study and survey have led to landslips and erosion in the hilly districts of the far-west region.

Landslide and flood have put the human settlements in and around the rural roads at risk.

Technicians say that one of the primary reasons behind recurrent landslides is that roads have been constructed without survey and feasibility study.

Arun Joshi, engineer of West Point Engineering Dipayal, said the lands in the village had become unstable with haphazard use of bulldozers, causing recurrent landslides in the area.

“Various roads are being constructed in a haphazard manner in every village of the hilly districts in the far-west. However, the concerned authorities have failed to conduct study on its impact on the ecology and human settlement,” said Joshi.

Roads constructed at a cost of millions of rupees have developed cracks and holes during the monsoon.

Prem Bogati, of Dipayal, said, “During road construction, most of the technicalities are overlooked by the bulldozer operator.”

Dirgha Bam, of Barchhin, Doti, said technicians from the VDC and DDC did not allow others to carry out the survey for road construction.

“Technicians from the DDC design the roads from their armchairs, without help from experts,” Bam said.

Dozens of human settlements at various VDCs of the district, including Ladagada, Ranagaun, Durgamandu and Jijomandu are at high risk of landslip.

As many as 52 houses in Ladagada of Doti have started to cave in due to landslips. “Lands located near rural roads have also become risky as they have begun to sink,” said Hemraj Joshi, of Doti Mudbhara.