48-km embankment constructed along West Rapti River

TULSIPUR: A total of 48 kilometres of embankment has been constructed along the West Rapti River to protect agricultural land and human settlements from flooding, according to the Irrigation and Water Resources Management Project, Lamahi, Dang.

The construction has helped protect and reclaim approximately 1,440 hectares of cultivable land, said the project’s Information Officer, Khumananda Wali.

According to Wali, the West Rapti River stretches 157.6 kilometres from the confluence area of Dang and Pyuthan districts to the Nepal-India border in Banke. Of this length, 48 kilometres of embankment have been completed so far.

During the last fiscal year alone, 5.61 kilometres of embankment were constructed, helping reclaim and protect 168 hectares of land.

The project has also carried out emergency river-control works worth Rs 4.32 million in Jethangaun of Gadhawa Rural Municipality-6 and Rs 1.28 million along the Ultisota stream in Gadhawa-3. Similarly, several embankment construction contracts have been completed along different sections of the right bank of the Rapti River and the Raniyapur-Chingatpur area under the Praganna Irrigation Project.

Currently, various embankment construction projects are underway in the Dang and Banke sections of the West Rapti River, with contracts worth Rs 1.22 billion and Rs 1.51 billion, respectively.

In the Lamahi-5 Sonarpur section of Dang, construction work under a contract worth approximately Rs 100 million has achieved 70 percent physical progress. Similarly, work along the Adehari-Jethangaun section of Gadhawa-1 has reached 48.70 percent progress under a contract valued at approximately Rs 53 million.

In Banke, construction work at Khulla Jhagadiya in Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality-7 has achieved 70 percent progress under a contract worth approximately Rs 40 million. Likewise, the Dhalaiya section in Rapti Sonari-6 has recorded 75 percent physical progress under a contract worth approximately Rs 82 million.

Meanwhile, 15.996 kilometres of embankment have already been completed between the main intake at Bhaluwang and Saklahi to reduce the risk of flooding and protect farmland and settlements along the river.

The project aims to construct an additional 23 kilometres of embankment in the coming years, further strengthening flood protection measures along the West Rapti River.