Six houses submerged

BANKE: As many as six houses were submerged in the catchment area of Sikta Irrigation Project after Sunday's downpour.

The source of the under-construction project is in Agaiya village, inhabited by 50 families. The dam that trapped all the water, submerged the houses. Earlier, rainwater used to flow to the Rapti River. According to Lok Bahadur Basnet, a local, houses belonging to Satya Dev, Lila Bahadur Dangi, Dipak Kumar were inundated. He said other houses also faced danger.

According to Nar Bahadur Chaudhari, another local, as part of the project a dam had been constructed around the village without leaving any outlet. He wondered what it would be like in the monsoon.

Staffers of the project could not be contacted for comments.