Gandak Canal: After half a century, preparation for making auxiliary structure

According to the Gandak agreement between Nepal and India, the main canal was to be built by India and its subsidiary structures were to be built by the Nepalese government itself. However, although the Nepal government has constructed auxiliary structures of the canal in Parsa and Bara districts, it has not started construction of auxiliary structures in Rautahat. Farmers of Rautahat are still irrigating by drawing water from the original canal to the pumping set.

Auxiliary structures have not been constructed in the command area of ​​the canal across the Bhakuwa river, which is the border of Bara and Rautahat. Half of Block No. 12 and block No. 15 of the canal are completely in Rautahat district. The canal that enters Nepal from Jankitola in Parsa and merges with Bagmati in Rautahat is called East Canal. This 81 km long canal had the goal of irrigating 31 thousand 400 hectares of land in 3 districts namely Parsa, Bara and Rautahat.

The Indian side releases water into the canal from the barrage built on the Nepal-India border at Bhainsalotan in Nawalparasi. After traveling 92 km in India, this canal enters Nepal from Jankitola in Parsa.

The management and responsibility of Gandak Canal and its structure, Information Officer and Engineer of Narayani Irrigation Management Office, Birgunj, Suresh Prasad Sah said that according to the Gandak Agreement, the main canal, subsidiary canals and other structures belonging to India in its command area is the responsibility of the Nepal government to build itself.

'But at that time, the work of expanding the command area of ​​the canal in Rautahat was stopped in the middle,' he said, 'the process of completing the unfinished work has now been started.' For the purpose of irrigating the land, from 1972 to 1980, Parsama, and then from 1980 to 1986, for the purpose of irrigating 12,700 lands, the expansion of the command area of ​​the Bara Canal was completed.

But in the third phase, from 1987 to 1991, according to the plan to irrigate 8,700 hectares of land in Rautahat, block number 13 to 15 of the canal remained to be worked on.

At that time, before the work of expanding the command area of ​​the canal in Rautahat was started, the river was cut by different rivers in Bara, Parsa and started to enter human settlements and cause damage. Engineer Shah says.

'As the plan was changed and the budget was spent elsewhere, the work of expanding the command area of ​​the canal in Rautahat remained incomplete,' he said, 'at that time, the Nepal government did not start the work of expanding the command area of ​​the canal in Rautahat due to lack of resources.' Currently, for the purpose of expanding the command area of ​​the canal in Rautahat, the detailed study survey and preparation of DPR has been approved and the preparation of DPR has been completed through the Federal Water Resources and Irrigation Department.

"After the DPR, the department will open the tender for the plan," he said, "After that, the construction of the main canal, branch canal, sub-branch canal and their structures will start from the main canal."