Nepal

Kathmandu, July 24

Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa today informed the House of Representatives about the governmentefforts to carry out relief and rescue operation in flood and landslide affected areas.

He presented details of the governmentwork, saying helicopters had been kept on standby, one in Itahari and another in Surkhet, to carry out relief and rescue operation.

Thapa said the Cabinet had decided to provide appropriate relief to those who lost their loved ones in the recent disasters and to provide treatment to injured persons. Thapa said that national and international stakeholders, including UN agencies were also assisting with relief operations.

Stating that 35 districts had been worst hit by the recent floods and landslides, Thapa said the government had sent thousands of tarpaulins to flood hit areas of the Tarai. He said the government was trying its best to open roads, highways and communication networks damaged by floods and landslides. He said the effort to establish Disaster Management Authority was in the final phase.

Minister Thapa said that integrated approach would be needed to control and mitigate floods. He said disasters were also caused by global warming and if nations did not try to control global warming, the existence of human civilisation could be in peril. He said that experts had warned that by 2100 almost two thirds of Himalayan glaciers would melt and in that case the existence of the entire Indian subcontinent would be imperilled.

Thapa said the government had provided ex-gratia payment of Rs 100,000 to families of those who lost their members in the recent disasters. According to the home ministry, death toll from floods and landslides had reached 108 today. Thirty-three people are still missing and 46 people were injured in the disaster.

He said the government was making efforts to hold talks with India on the floods caused in the border region of Nepal due to embankments on the Indian side.

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Kathmandu, July 24

Kathmandu Metropolitan City is planning to introduce ‘Recharge Kathmandu& programme in a bid to increase the level of groundwater in the capital.

Saroj Basnet, vice-chair of KMC Urban Planning Commission, said the groundwater level was depleting and required recharge.

Groundwater recharge is a hydrologic process in which water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Similarly, KMC will be installing rainwater harvesting system in communities as per necessity to meet the growing water demands.

Priority will also be attached to hotels, hospitals, schools and apartment buildings for rainwater harvesting.

Water being supplied by Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited accounts for nearly 50 per cent of groundwater, which is extracted through deep boring.

According to KMC, it is also contributing to depletion of water level in Kathmandu.

The policies and programmes of KMC recently passed by it municipal assembly has also put the water supply and sanitation, and climate change issues on top priority for the fiscal 2019-20. It said the proposed ‘Recharge Kathmandu& programme is expected to cope with the impacts of climate change in urban areas.

The policies and programmes state that a policy will be adopted for supply of safe drinking water to the people in Kathmandu by implementing water supply and sanitation projects in an effective manner. They also aim to achieve total sanitation besides protecting and promoting traditional water sources.

The metropolis will also implement waster segregation system at the source, establish vehicle cleaning centres at all entry points of Kathmandu valley to control dust and that comes to the valley along with the vehicles coming from outside.

KMC is also planning to develop Kathmandu as a ‘no mask city& by reducing pollution level and declaring Kathmandu as a no-plastic zone.

The other plans of KMC include promoting the concept of green city, constructing an international park in Tinkune, installing disaster management equipment, including fire engines, at five different places of Kathmandu, removing petrol pumps located at highly sensitive places and controlling footpath encroachment.

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