Saturday, July 28, 2007

Indian highheadedness kills many Nepalese in terai

Speaking in the interim parliament, Birodh Khatiwada of CPN-UML, Lilamani Pokharel of People's Front Nepal and Bharat Bimal Yadav of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandidevi) said people in the terai were suffering from floods due to several structures constructed by the Indian government near the bordering areas.
They also urged the government to take immediate initiative to hold dialogue with the Indian government to provide outlet to the water from Laxmanpur Barrage built near Banke district, and other dams.

When inquired regarding this, Jawed Ashraf, Counselor at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, said the opening of an outlet has not materialized due to inaction from the government of Nepal, and added that focusing only on Laxmanpur is "an effort to shift attention" from the larger problem of managing floods in the country.

"Flooding is there from the beginning of the foothills all the way down to the Ganges, and not just along the border. Even Bihar and parts of UP are flooded," he said.

No comments: