Key Takeaways:
- 300+ bighas submerged across five wards of Birgunj Metropolitan City
- Farmers unable to transplant paddy; homes and cattle sheds at risk
- Locals blame unplanned infrastructure for blocking natural drainage
More than 300 bighas of cultivable land across five wards of Birgunj Metropolitan City have been submerged due to poor drainage of rainwater, leaving hundreds of farmers unable to transplant paddy during peak plantation season.
The inundation has affected Wards 17, 20, 24, 26 and 28, where stagnant water has disrupted farming activities and raised concerns over damage to homes and livestock sheds. Farmers said they had prepared fields and seedlings but were unable to proceed as both remained underwater.
Following complaints, Member of Parliament Sushil Sah Kanu inspected the affected areas on Sunday. Farmers urged him to restore natural drainage channels and prevent further losses, blaming unmanaged land plotting and elevated road construction for trapping water. After the inspection, MP Kanu pledged to coordinate with the concerned ministries, local administration and elected representatives to pursue both immediate and long-term solutions. He said resolving the drainage problem facing farmers would be given priority.
Former VDC chairperson and farmer Ramashankar Dwivedi blamed unmanaged land plotting and the construction of roads and drainage structures above the natural ground level for trapping water in agricultural fields. He said the problem has worsened over the years, causing recurring damage to crops.
Farmers also complained that not only paddy cultivation, but winter wheat farming has been repeatedly affected by flooding. Despite raising the issue with authorities in previous years, they said no lasting solution has been implemented.
According to local residents, recent infrastructure projects-including the Parwanipur–Integrated Check Post (ICP) six-lane road, the Postal Highway, the Alau–Atharaha road, the Integrated Check Post, and the dry port-along with unplanned urban expansion have obstructed natural water channels, aggravating flooding in both settlements and farmlands.
Farmer Radheshyam Dwivedi of Bahuari said he had already spent heavily to protect summer paddy planted on his 21-kattha farm, but standing water continues to threaten future cultivation.
Residents say hundreds of homes and cattle sheds across the affected wards are also at risk. In some areas, water has reportedly reached depths of three to four feet, making movement difficult. Local authorities estimate that around 20 houses in Ward 26, 35 houses in Ward 24 and more than a dozen houses in Ward 25 face inundation threats.
Ward Chairperson Bijay Patel said the absence of adequate drainage provisions during the construction of major roads and other infrastructure projects has significantly worsened the situation. He noted that while rainwater previously drained away by October-November, blocked outlets now leave areas submerged for extended periods.
Patel said the metropolitan city had dug a temporary three-foot-deep drainage channel along a one-kilometre stretch from Alau to Shivji Mill last year, but the effort failed after planned culvert installations were not completed and the trench was later filled in. He expressed confidence that installing about one kilometre of hume pipes could provide a lasting solution.
Previous attempts by district authorities to coordinate among the federal, provincial and local governments also failed to deliver a permanent drainage system, leaving the problem unresolved year after year.
