Dhangadhi, August 31:

Fear gripped people of Mahendranagar municipality-9 Brahmadev today as water started leaking from the Tanakpur dam built on the Mahakali river.

Panic-stricken residents have appealed to the authorities concerned to save them from an impending disaster.

Ten spurs of the dam submerged after water began leaking from five spots. Flooding and erosion have put these spurs in peril. “These spurs should be reconstructed at the earliest,” said Rewadhar Pali, a regional member of the CPN-Maoist. The leaked water is gushing towards Nepal, he added. National Hydropower Corporation has opened seven flood gates of the river after the Kanchanpur district administration office informed about the leakage. “Everywhere we see water,” said Tara Negi of Bramhadev bazaar. The dam was built around 15 years ago. It has not been repaired ever since, said Harish Bhatta, secretary of the Bramhadev bazaar management committee.

Chief District Officer Madhav Prasad Ojha, who visited the spot, said he would discuss the issue with the chief of India’s Champaran district, RC Pathak. A decision to this effect was made at the meeting of natural calamity relief committee. The government has been informed about the leakage, Ojha added.