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DAM-L LS: Pull Down Laxmpanpur Barrage (fwd)
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Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 11:31:45 -0700 (PDT)
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subject: LS: Pull Down Laxmpanpur Barrage
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Source: Edit in Kathmandu Post, September 12, 2000
Pull down the dam
India constructed the Laxmanpur barrage three hundred meters away from
Nepal-India border across the
Rapti river not only without seeking Nepal's consent but also without
even the minimum needed
information. By doing this, technically India has not only violated the
international law but also breached
understanding between the countries since it has adversely affected
Nepal. The construction has, so far,
submerged one thousand acres of arable land and displaced about
two hundred families. Had the government taken the right steps at the
right time, neither the standing
crops worth millions of rupees would have been destroyed nor would
there have been dislocation of
human settlement and the resultant misery. For this, the government
must take the blame because of
its failure to recognise the threats of the afflux dam to Nepalese
people and territory and to take up the
issue with New Delhi with a sense of urgency and firmness at the right
time.
Floods caused by week long incessant rains have affected Holia VDC and
destroyed standing crops and
property worth millions of rupees. The reason was that India's recently
constructed Laxmanpur barrage
blocked the natural course of the Rapti river and submerged thousands
of acres of land. The inundation
has led to the collapse of 50 houses and there are fears that an
epidemic may hit the waterlogged
villages. The 13.5 km long dam is five meters high which can inundate
nine village development
committees and dislocate more than 500 families at any time on the side
of the Nepali border. India
had, for precautionary measures, resettled 52 villages on their side of
the border but the Nepalese
government, as usual, has failed to provide similar land for
resettlement on the Nepali side of the border.
As a result, local Nepalese have been pushed to the wall as they have
no way out but to abandon their
ancestral lands. Earlier, we had joined others in warning the
government that such a situation could
develop if the government failed to settle the issue with New Delhi in
time.
There is no disputing that the floods have dislocated thousands of
people in less than a week as a result
of the Laxmanpur barrage. The acute shortage of food and medicine
supplies has hit the flood affected
districts. This is something the government cannot ignore. If the
government does not send medical
supplies and provide relief materials in time, there is bound to be an
outbreak of disease after the rains
abate. This will further complicate the resettlement of flood victims.
It must therefore treat the problem of
flood victims genuinely and act immediately. In the interest of the
country as well as to avoid human
disaster, all political parties must join hands and raise this issue
with India so that India realises the
harm it has caused to this country. If possible India should be
convinced that pulling down the
Laxmanpur structure itself would not only be a genuinely friendly
gesture but also a move to show global
concern to suffering humanity.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
Source: Kathmandu Post, September 12, 2000
'Laxmanpur barrage not built with ill-intentions'
By a Post Reporter
NEPALGUNJ, Sept 11 - First Secretary of Indian Embassy in Kathmandu
Manoj Bharati claimed
Monday that India had not built embankments of the Laxmanpur barrage
with ill-intentions.
Three days after a total of 161 Nepali families were forced to leave
their homes as a result of the
deluge on the Rapti river, First Secretary Bharati said, "India had not
built the embankments along the
Rapti river with any bad intentions towards Nepal. The issue was blown
out of proportion."
Incessant rains since Friday that brought heavy floods in the Rapti
river has already displaced 140
families of six Wards of Holiya VDC and properties worth Rs. 300
thousand have been destroyed.
Residents of the flood-affected area have been shifted to safer place
of Jamuni of Gangapur VDC.
Similarly, 21 families displaced from Kamdi-1 Sidhaniya have been
sheltered in a school building.
The 13.5 km long dam built by India along the Rapti river is five
metres high, which can inundate more
than five thousand people in 33 villages in Nepali sides, according to
a report prepared by the Nepali
technicians.
Journalists present at the press conference objected his presentation.
When the pressmen put forth
the logic that this Laxmanpur barrage is a big issue for Nepal though
it might be nothing as far as the
India is concerned, First Secretary Bharati said, "Solution to the
problem was easy."
Although Bharati hinted about the blockage of the outlets of two
nalas--Sauteiya and Gandhaili brooks
flowing from the Nepalese territory, India had already blocked the
outlets of these small rivers last
February.
The joint technical committee formed to prepare a report on the barrage
of both the countries
submitted their separate reports to their respective governments, quite
late in April after the nalas
were blocked by Indian side while erecting the embankments.
He also claimed that Pakistani ISI--Inter Service
Intelligence--activities are still prevalent in Nepal and
conceded that Nepali Maoists are active in Indian soil. Bharati said,
"We should prevent terrorism with
joint efforts."
Replying to a query First Secretary Bharati said that Indian police and
authorities not only harass the
Nepalis in Nepal-India borders but the ordinary Indians also.
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