SAPTARI (TILATHI), July 21:Even as the Khando River displaces the locals of southern Saptari district every year, the lack of a genuine concern from the government has made the situation even more unbearable for the victims, they complained.

According to the flood victims, the government's inability and inaction to control floods in the rivers has forced them to live a miserable life. They mock the government projects to control the floods, claiming that it will turn the situation from bad to worse.

In an interaction program organized in Tilathi on Friday, the locals expressed their concerns in front of Saptari's Chief District Officer (CDO), heads of the security bodies, chief of Khando River Control Project, former ministers and various leaders of the political parties, among others.

Demanding effective measures to control the river floods, they stressed that the government should not displace them from their own land and farms in the name of flood control.

“We have been facing the problem of inundation for more than a decade. Yes, we need prompt solutions to this decade-old problem. But we do not want the victims to be displaced as a part of the solution,” said Dayanta Mishra, a local. “The government is unnecessarily seizing our lands in the name of controlling the floods. They are only adding insult to injury. Where is justice for us?”

Embankments and artificial structures erected by Indians nearby theno man's land have changed the river's natural course, which has been leading to yearly floods in Saptari. The government of Nepal has not taken effective measures to solve the solution, the locals complained.

“No matter how many embankments we erect, the flood problem will not resolve until our government convinces the Indian government to destroy the embankments they have built on their side.  

 
• flood victims
 
• saptari