Natural phenomena are not under anyone's control. Every year, floods and inundation in the plains and landslides cause suffering to the people of the hilly areas. Life is taking away. Losing a loved one is adding to it. Houses, farms, four-footed animals, and children are being washed away. Even now, if we do not move towards classification of places for living, the series of such losses will continue to be added. Which is very sad.
What you should know
Floods and landslides caused by heavy rains on Saturday night have caused damage in eastern and central Nepal and shocked Elam. 39 people have lost their lives due to landslides and floods in Mai river in different parts of the district, one person is still missing. 26 people were injured.
Only 108 houses in Ilam have been completely damaged due to the floods. The Rajduwali settlement with 35 houses on the banks of Mai river in Ilam was swept away. After the forecast of continuous rain from October 17 to 20, due to the proactiveness shown by the federal government for damage reduction, the loss of life has been relatively reduced across the country.
However, the loss of life and property was also huge when landslides occurred in unexpected places and caused massive floods in Elam. All three tiers of government should show priority in providing relief package to the victims and facilitating them for safe temporary/permanent residence. A situation should be created for the immediate implementation of victim-targeted government announcements. The civilian government formed after the Gen-G movement must uphold the dignity of its declarations and obligations to the citizens.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority, due to heavy rainfall in a short period of time, there has been more damage in the areas of Ilam. Ilam recorded the highest rainfall in 40 years. As a result, the settlement itself was affected by landslides and floods. The flood victims are currently taking shelter in their neighbors, relatives, schools and public buildings. Some are making a living by hanging tripal. Floods and landslides have swept away houses, land and roads, and disrupted people's lives.
The flood has damaged the belay bridge of Mai Khola in Ilam. The concrete bridge on the Kanchenjunga-Kechna road, which is being used as an alternative to the Mechi highway, has been damaged. Similarly, landslides have occurred in dozens of sections of internal roads in Ilam and Panchthar. Due to this, road connectivity with other districts has become difficult.
Humans are forced to walk long distances. There is a shortage of essential materials like rice, salt, oil, petrol, gas etc. throughout the district. As alternative roads have also been damaged, no vehicle carrying food has been able to reach Ilam market for the last five days. The situation in remote settlements is even worse. Effective efforts are expected from the government to make this kind of difficult lifestyle as easy as possible.
The meeting of the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Sushila Karki has decided to make effective the relief work of the disaster victims, rebuild the structures damaged due to the flood, arrange temporary and permanent residences, etc. immediately. The meeting has decided to provide a grant of Rs 50,000 for the immediate construction of temporary housing for the families who have lost their homes in the calamity.
In addition, for the construction of permanent housing, it has been decided to provide funds according to the criteria of Rs 5 lakh in the Himalayan region, Rs 4 lakh in the hills and Rs 3 lakh in the Terai. The government should keep in mind that such decisions will be effective only if they can be implemented immediately. At the same time, administrative hassles should be made as easy as possible.
All three levels of the government should be active in order to operate the blocked roads in different places as soon as possible. During floods and landslides, the availability of clean drinking water is interrupted. Since disease can spread due to unclean drinking water, managing clean drinking water should be a priority of the government and supporting organizations.
Citizens in temporary camps should be given medical check-ups and necessary medicines. Electricity and mobile network are also major requirements and should be managed as much as possible. During disasters, relief materials from aid agencies go nowhere and go nowhere. Therefore, in order to end the tendency of relief distribution to be concentrated only in certain areas, a method should be made for equitable distribution. A one-way policy should be implemented.
is the government's priority right now - search for the missing, treatment of the injured, relief for the victims. Similarly, programs should be introduced to rehabilitate the homeless. Now that the winter season is approaching, there will be more problems for those who are homeless. Before that they should be managed. The work should be accelerated now so that we do not have to spend the winter and rainy season under the tent. Due to the disconnection of the road network, the traveling citizens have suffered, and there has also been a shortage of essential items. Therefore, the government should make war-level efforts to open the road network immediately.
Natural events are not under anyone's control. Every year, floods and inundation in the plains and landslides cause suffering to the people of the hilly areas. Life is taking away. Losing a loved one is adding to it. Houses, farms, four-footed animals, and children are being washed away. Even now, if we do not move towards classification of places for living, the series of such losses will continue to be added. Which is very sad.
Therefore, strategic steps should be taken based on the study to make the living in mountainous areas prone to landslides and Terai areas prone to floods and inundation as safe as possible. The traditional settlement system should be changed. The government should take the problem seriously and find incentives or coercive measures.
