PANCHTHAR: Four families in Yangwarak Rural Municipality in Panchthar district have been displaced after continuous rainfall triggered landslides that swept away homes and threatened several settlements.
According to police, the families of Mohanlal Khawas and Kabir Khawas of Lambakhola, along with Ganga Prasad Begha of Kopche, were displaced after landslides destroyed their houses.
Seven members of Mohanlal and Kabir’s families are currently taking shelter at the home of Shanta Khawas, while Ganga Prasad’s six-member family has been relocated to the house of his brother, Durga Begha.
Another six-member family belonging to Bhagiman Begha was also displaced after a landslide placed their home at high risk, according to Deputy Superintendent of Police Anish Kumar Karna of the District Police Office. Authorities said several other households remain at risk from floods and landslides.
Floodwaters have also damaged key infrastructure in the district. Suspension bridges connecting Chamlingdanda from Lamitar and another bridge at Dobhane in Yangwarak-2 were damaged, while two road bridges under construction were swept away.
A 41-foot road bridge under construction over the Mewa River at Dobhane along the Pushpalal Mid-Hill Highway was washed away, completely disrupting traffic movement after floodwaters also damaged nearby roads and diversions, police said.
Similarly, flooding swept away part of the under-construction Limbuni Bridge over the Tamor River, located on the border of Hilihang Rural Municipality and Aathrai Triveni Rural Municipality under the Tamor Corridor Road project.
Police said around 350 tons of steel trusses, oxygen cylinders, electric equipment, iron pipes, and other construction materials belonging to Yakthunghang Construction Services Pvt. Ltd. were swept away by the flood.
Landslides have also completely disrupted sections of the Pushpalal Mid-Hill Highway, particularly around Oyam Bazaar and Rijal Bhir.
Hydropower projects suffer damage
Floods and landslides have also caused damage to several hydropower projects in eastern Nepal.
The Hari Hridulaya Mewakhola Hydropower Project in Yangwarak-2 suffered damage from flooding, while the dam structure of the Inwakhola Hydropower Project was damaged along the Panchthar-Taplejung border.
Similarly, the Arun Kabeli Hydropower Project also sustained damage due to the floods.
In Yangwarak-4 Sigewa, floods damaged cardamom farms and agricultural land belonging to local farmers Lal Bahadur Mabo, Laxman Mabo, Yogendra Mabo, and Chhabilal Pokharel.
Floods and landslides also damaged the Tikarame, Dalledhunga, and Sigewa drinking water projects, as well as the Barang irrigation scheme and the Mechi Pahadi drinking water project, according to police.
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