MYAGDI: Floods and landslides triggered by this year’s monsoon have damaged 242 private houses in Beni Municipality, with the cost of restoring roads, drinking water systems and other infrastructure expected to run into hundreds of millions of rupees.
According to the municipality, 91 houses were completely destroyed and 151 partially damaged, leaving all 242 houses in need of reconstruction. The worst-hit areas were Chinakhet and Chepare in Bhakimli, where two people died after being buried in landslides. Thirty-three sheds were also damaged.
A concrete retaining wall built along the Kaligandaki River at Ganeshtole to protect Beni Bazaar was destroyed by flooding on Asoj 11. The Rs 7.5 million allocated in the current fiscal year for repairs to the damaged road has proved insufficient. Following a decision by the District Disaster Management Committee, an additional Rs 10 million has been sought from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
Beni Municipality Deputy Mayor Jyoti Lamichhane said an estimated Rs 250 million to Rs 300 million would be required to restore damaged roads to their original condition.
Drinking water infrastructure has also suffered extensive damage. Projects built over four years at a cost of Rs 130 million have sustained damage worth an estimated Rs 90 million. Reconstructing the damaged structures is expected to cost around Rs 50 million.
Technicians have estimated that Rs 140 million will be needed to rebuild the pipeline supplying drinking water to Beni, the district headquarters. Lamichhane said the municipality had requested the Drinking Water, Water Resources and Irrigation Development Division of the provincial government to provide pipes worth Rs 10 million immediately to repair damaged drinking water lines in settlements outside the district headquarters.
The disaster has also damaged two school buildings, two toilets, a child development centre and a health post building. The lift drinking water and irrigation project in Singa and the lift drinking water project in Ratnechaur have also been affected.
Meanwhile, floods and landslides have caused damage worth more than Rs 20 million to Singa Tatopani Kunda, a popular tourist destination in the municipality.
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