Discussions on canal upgrading and road expansion have been postponed after representatives from the Indian side did not attend a meeting called by the Chief District Officer.
What you should know
The Indian side did not attend the meeting called by the District Administration Office, Saptari, to discuss the issue of displacement of hundreds of poor families in Saptari after India began upgrading the West Koshi Canal and expanding the road.
After complaints of displacement of poor families increased, Chief District Officer Tubaraj Pokharel had called the heads of the concerned local levels and representatives of the Indian side for discussions on Wednesday afternoon. However, the discussions have been postponed after the Executive Engineer's Office of Kunauli, the Western Koshi Canal Division of Supaul district in Bihar state, India, where the project is being implemented, and the representatives of the construction company did not come to the meeting.
Hundreds of poor families from Hanumannagar Kankalini, Dakneshwari and Rajbiraj municipalities, Mahadeva, Chinnamasta, Bishnupur and Rajgadh municipalities, including Musahar settlement in Tilathi Koiladi Rural Municipality-8, are at risk of being displaced due to the canal upgrading and the accompanying road expansion.
The Indian side did not come even after waiting for two hours, said Birendra Majhi, the mayor of Hanumannagar Kankalini Municipality. ‘When the road is expanded on both sides of the canal, there is a situation where about 200 families will be displaced in our municipality,’ he said. ‘It is not possible to manage those families immediately, but there has been no coordination with us in this regard.’
Mayor Majhi claimed that the work is being done against the Koshi Agreement. ‘According to the agreement, local laborers and manpower should be used for the work on the Nepal side,’ he said. ‘But the laborers are also being brought from India, this is purely arbitrary by the Indian side.’
Chief District Officer Tubaraj Pokharel informed that discussions were held only with the local level chiefs as the Indian side was not present. ‘The Indian side had come last Sunday, but they did not attend today,’ he said. ‘They are expected to come.’
