Koshi study project extension agreed

NEPAL-INDIA WATER TALKS

BY THIRA L BHUSAL
KATHMANDU, Sept 30

Top officials of Nepal and India in bilateral talks here today have agreed to extend the study period for the Nepal-India Joint Project for Saptakoshi, Sunkoshi Investigation.

The joint project office was established on Aug. 17, 2004 in Biratnagar to carry out field investigations and prepare a detailed project report. The project was given 30 months to carry out its study, at the time of its establishment.

The latest deadline for the study was extended till Dec. 2008 as the project failed to make progress as planned due to hindrances from locals. In the four years since its establishment, only about 30 percent project work has been completed.

The two sides in the talks also agreed to conduct a feasibility study of the 245 MW Naumure Hydro Electric Project on the Rapti River.

India has announced it is ready to build the project on its own. This was reiterated during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's five-day India visit starting Sept. 14.

Though dates and other details are yet to be finalized, both sides have agreed to extend the study period of the Sapta Koshi Sun Koshi Investigation project and to conduct the feasibility study for Naumure Hydro Project, said a highly-placed government source at the Ministry of Water Resources.

The two countries are close to agreement on resolving all inundation issues through a powerful technical committee to be formed for the purpose. "However, the proposal is yet to be finalised as the Nepali side has some reservations about it," the source said.

Inundation along the Nepal-India border at Laxamanpur barrage, Mahalisagar, Rasiawal Khurdalotan and the Gandak river in Nawalparasi district are items on the agenda.
Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources Shankar Prasad Koirala is the head of the Nepali team and India's Secretary of Water Resources Umesh Narayan Panjiar is leading the Indian delegation.

Representatives from both countries are scheduled to visit the Sapta Koshi areas on Tuesday. The issue of recurring Koshi floods figured prominently during discussions. Talks will take place in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

THE KATHMANDU POST

West Seti test case for hydro target

BY THIRA L BHUSAL
KATHMANDU, Sept 27

The government has taken the 750-MW West Seti Hydroelectric Project (WSHP) as a test case for its ability of achieving the target of generating 10,000 MW of hydro-electricity in the next 10 years.

If the West Seti project fails, the government's policy of speeding up hydro-electricity generation and attaining the set target will be in trouble, Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) Shankar Koirala said at an interaction on WSHP, Friday.

The government of Nepal and West Seti Hydro Limited signed the initial agreement on the project in 1994 but the project has been delayed because of the conflict and political uncertainty in the country. The final agreement before construction work begins is expected to be signed early in 2009. The government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are negotiating some clauses of the final agreement.

Finance Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, while presenting the annual budget on September 20, set out a target of producing 10,000 MW of hydro-electricity in next 10 years.
Minister for Water Resources Bishnu Poudel has affirmed the government's commitment to the project. "The government will not back out from the project," he said.
"Backtracking from the project would be a serious matter because it has already taken embryonic shape and we do not want to abort it," Poudel said.

SMEC Developments Pvt Ltd, a member of the SMEC Group of Australia, is the promoter of the $1.6 billion project and has a 26 percent share in it. The Nepal government has a 15 percent share, to be financed with a loan from the ADB. Chinese and Indian companies will have 15 percent share each and the remaining 14 percent will be owned by Nepali investors including locals at the project site.

Ninety percent of the 750 MW generated will be sold to India while Nepal will get the remaining 10 percent free of cost.

At the interaction between critics of the project and promoters on Friday locals from the affected area complained against 'promoter apathy', the lack of transparency and of people's participation in the decision making process.

MoWR Secretary Koirala suggested the promoters ensure local participation in the decision making and other activities as far as possible.
People from several VDCs in Doti, Dadeldhura, Baitadi and Bajhang districts in the Far-Western Region will be affected by the project reservoir.

The SMEC has said it plans to rehabilitate about 1,383 affected families from the proposed reservoir area in the Terai. Around 186 families living in the vicinity of the proposed power house and transmission line need to be relocated. The promoters have said they will adopt internationally accepted practices for the rehabilitation.

Over 3,400 people will get employment for the five and half years of the construction period and at least 200 people will have permanent jobs during the project's operation.
Critics of the deal have also criticised the government for awarding the project with less benefit accruing to Nepal in comparison with the 402-MW Arun-III and 300-MW Upper Karnali where promoters agreed to provide 22 and 12 percent free electricity respectively to Nepal.
"We should not think of it in the present context because this agreement signed in 1997 when we had had no benchmark to follow," Koirala said. "It was an important achievement at the time.

"Review needed: Secretary

Secretary Koirala, however, said it was time to review the agreement in view of the changed context over the last 12 years. He said the government would give utmost priority to national, regional and local interests at the time of revision.

The project has said that a higher tariff would be set given the changed context. Earlier, it was agreed that power would be sold to India at the rate of 4.95 US cents per kilowatt-hour.
The project will be built under the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model and will be handed over to the government of Nepal after 25 years of operation by SMEC. Nepal will earn over Rs 2 billion as royalty during the 25-year period, according to the promoters.

Water resource analyst Ratna Sansar Shrestha, making a presentation on the project, claimed that most of the benefits will go to India like flood control and dry season augmented flow while Nepal will face the costs of the project like restrictive use of water in upstream areas.

THE KATHMANDU POST

No speedy end to load-shedding: NEA

Consumers blamed

BY THIRA L BHUSAL
KATHMANDU, Sept 17

In recent years, load-shedding has become a part of daily life in Nepal. However, daily power cuts for long hours during the monsoon never happened in previous years.

To the utter consternation of consumers, Sher Singh Bhat, director at Nepal Electrity Authority (NEA) System Operations Department says, "There is no solution to this problem in the near future."

NEA has been enforcing up to 37 hours of load-shedding a week since September 10. It states that the new load-shedding schedule had to be enforced as five towers of the Kataiya-Duhabi 132 KV transmission line collapsed due to the Koshi flood. The condition of two other towers, hit by the floods on August 18, is very vulnerable.

The Kataiya-Duhabi transmission line is key to power supply between Nepal and India. Nepal used to import 60 megawatt of electricity through the cross-border transmission line of the Kataiya-Duhabi grid. NEA argues that decreasing water level at Kulekhani reservoir is yet another reason behind prolonged load-shedding. The water level at Kulekhani is 25 meters lower than compared to this season last year.

Director Bhat says, "The water level at the Kulekhani reservoir this monsoon has reached an all time low." He says the water level in the Kulekhani reservoir can't be expected to rise now that winter is approaching.

Maintenance of the collapsed towers will take months--another piece of bad news. Bhat says it will take at least three months to reinstate all the towers.

With the arrival of winter, the run-of-the river projects will generate less electricity due to decreasing water flows in the rivers. All the hydro-electric projects in the country except Kulekhani are run-of-river type.

NEA enforced load shedding of up to 48 hours a week last winter, and worse days can be expected with the 37-hour weekly load shedding already in place.

'Consumers force us to prolong load shedding'

Director Bhat says NEA is compelled to prolong load-shedding hours.
"People use electrical appliances all at once during regular power supply-- increasing power consumption exponentially. And load-shedding hours are extended to meet the higher power consumption," he says.

NEA enforced a 16-hour load shedding schedule when demand during peak hours reached 700-MW. Its total capacity during such times was 480 to 500 MWs. But NEA re-scheduled its power cuts to 37 hours just two weeks later while its total capacity remained the same. Asked why NEA stretched the power-cut schedule though its capacity remained intact, Bhat explained, "If the load shedding schedule starts at 7 pm, for instance, consumers use their electrical gadgets including rice cookers, heaters and irons just before that. The peak hour then shifts from seven back to six and NEA has no other option than to start load shedding from 6 pm."

He said NEA can't tackle this situation and this sometimes causes unscheduled power outage.
Maintenance of turbines at Marsyangdi and Kulekhani is also contributing to power cuts. Bhat says repairs at Marsyangdi will be complete in around 20 days. With the repair of turbines at Marsyangdi, 23 MWs will be added to the national grid. NEA's failure to control power leakage is yet another major reason behind power shortage. NEA lost 25.15 percent of its total capacity due to power leakage in 2007/08.

THE KATHMANDU POST

Koshi rendered many landless in hours

BY THIRA L BHUSAL
SUNSARI, Sept 5

It had been raining incessantly since morning. Kalicharan Yadav, his seven-year-old daughter, and his sister-in-law were sitting on the roadside at Laukahi sharing a piece of plastic paper to cover their heads under the rain.

A dejected Kalicharan was constantly looking down the road when his daughter showed him a boat in the distance toward the southern part bordering Bihar. It appeared to be approaching the road. Kalicharan and his family desperately wanted to know the condition of the remnants of his building from the boatman as they had abandoned the building to escape the flood since quite some days.

When the raging Koshi River breached its embankment at West Kushaha on August 18 and diverted eastward, it submerged the entire land around his building, and the water level reached up to their necks. Kalicharan then decided to flee his home along with his children, wife and other family members.

With over five bigha land, Kalicharan owned a concrete building until a few days back. He reared cattle and grew crops in his village bordering Bihar.

"I don't know how many years will it take to transform my paddy land into cultivable land because Koshi is flowing with a powerful current over it," Kalicharan said gloomily, adding, "I just pray that at least some parts of my building are intact."

On that fateful day of August 18, when the Koshi began its devastation, this owner of five bigha paddy land, became landless and penniless within hours.

Mohammad Salim Miya of Shripur-8 and Mohammad Safid Miya of Kushaha-3 are taking refuge at Bhagwati Secondary School at Inaruwa. The school is being used as a camp to house thousands of people displaced by the Koshi havoc.

Salim is father of three children and Safid is father of six. Salim's wife Ajam Khatun is eight months pregnant and Safid's wife is nine months pregnant.

Salim has five bigha land and a concrete building. Safid owns one bigha land and a house roofed with corrugated sheets. Unfortunately, the Koshi washed away their buildings, properties and valuables.

Similar is the plight of Mahammad Majrood, husband of five-month pregnant Hasina Khatun.
Staying inside the same room at the school, they had common stories. Everything of ours is ruined, they said. "These children's future has become uncertain, but more than this we have a very hard time fulfilling their demands and explaining the present situation."
When the Koshi breached its embankment their first priority was to save the lives of children and themselves, they said.

Most of the over 50 thousand people displaced by Koshi devastation share the same plight.
People displaced from villages inundated by Koshi are mostly farmers or daily-wage workers from madhesi communities. Majority of them are dalits who are both Hindu and Muslim.
The inundated villages are fertile lands suitable mainly for rice, sugarcane, jute, and for keeping fisheries.

Materials crunch mars repairs

BY THIRA L BHUSAL / SHANKAR KHAREL
WEST KUSAHA (SUNSARI), Aug 31

Workers deployed to repair spurs and stop the eastward diversion of the Koshi River at West Kusaha are in urgent need of construction materials, officials said.

“We are running out of nylon crates, galvanized iron crates and sacks which are essential to repair and protect the spurs,” an engineer from Department of Water-Induced Disaster Prevention (DWIDP), Biratnagar, stationed at the site said. If more materials are not immediately supplied to the sites, work will come to a halt, he told the Post.

According to him, workers rely on materials DWIDP of Nepal provide to Indian authorities. “We are running out of stock provided by Nepal but the Indian side has not made any arrangement so far,” the engineer said.

Nepali authorities made emergency arrangement of materials in view of the urgency, officials said. DWIDP provided about 35,000 sacks while local contractors selected by Indian authorities arranged 20,000 more sacks. So far, 55,000 sacks have been arranged while 30,000 were used as of Sunday, officials and contractors at the site said.

Likewise, Nepali authorities have provided 400 sets of nylon crates and 50 sets of galvanized iron crates so far. “We immediately need at least 400 more crates to continue repair work,” the engineer said.

“It was just a temporary and preliminary arrangement. The Indian authorities need to provide sufficient materials to speed up construction and maintenance work,” he said. For a week, Indian officials have been saying they will start work on a war-footing but work at the site has yet to gear up. Around 400 workers are repairing a spur at 13.6 kilometers north of Koshi barrage. This spur has eroded 50 meters so far. Its total length is over 200 meters. The raging river has been consistently hitting the spur, and it has become crucial to stop the Koshi from diverting eastward.

Koshi River has been continuously eroding its spurs and embankment. On August 18, a swollen Koshi destroyed two spurs at 11.1 and 11.9 kilometers and submerged several villages. Over 30,000 locals fled their homes to safety.

The Kathmandu Post

Embankment repairs start today

SAPTAKOSHI DELUGE

BY THIRA L BHUSAL & SHANKAR KHAREL
KOSHI TAPPU (SUNSARI), Aug 28

Indian officials have agreed to start repair and renstruction of the Koshi-devastated spurs along the river in Nepal, 11 days after the embankment was breached wreaking havoc in over four VDCs of Sunsari district. The Indian side is ready to reconstruct the destroyed spurs as there is increasing risk of the Koshi River expanding further east.

Deputy Director General of Department of Irrigation Anil Kumar Pokharel informed that the Indian authorities are prepared to carry out reconstruction work on a war-footing with a view to strengthen two spurs located 13.5 kilometers north of the Koshi barrage. The Indian side has mobilized all means and resources, according to Pokharel. Spurs are important infrastructure that stop river flow and protect embankments. The Koshi submerged thousands of hectares of land because of lack of repair and maintenance of these two spurs. The Koshi had breached its embankment at western Kushaha on August 18.

“Indian authorities have reached a three-point agreement with the Nepali side and have set priorities,” Pokharel said. The authorities have agreed to immediately protect all spurs situated north of the point of breach, that is 12.5 kilometers north of the Koshi barrage. “The Indian side is serious about not allowing the Koshi to spread further and is working as per the agreement,” he said.

The Indian authorities have also selected contractors to transport boulders from Chatara in Sunsari and Letang in Morang district. The Indian side will repair and improve the road stretching from Loukahi to Koshi Tappu so that heavy vehicles can carry boulders for completion of the work without further delay. “Repair work will start on a war footing from tomorrow (Friday),” said Pokharel. As per the agreement, the Indian side will repair and reconstruct two spurs at West Kushaha and Rajabas. Half of the spur situated 13 kilometers north of the barrage has already been damaged.

The river will divert eastward unless this spur is immediately strengthened. There is only 500 meter gap between the spur and the breached embankment. Likewise, the spur at Rajabas in Sunsari is quite vulnerable also. “If this one is not strengthened, the Koshi can divert from this point as well,” Pokharel said. The Indian authorities have selected two separate contractors to repair these spurs, said Shrawan Kumar, Junior Engineer at Pramandal Bathnaha, India, who is working at the breached embankment site. He said it would not be possible to reconstruct the destroyed embankment until the water level subsided significantly, and that they had given priority to protect the remaining parts. “Our objective at the moment is to protect the remaining ones,” he said.

A senior technical team headed by a Chief Engineer from Bihar is currently busy in discussions with Nepali counterparts. About 300 laborers have been working since Wednesday at the site. “The Koshi flow has been diverted toward the east. If this spur is breached, the river will submerge land even up to Inaruwa municipality,” said Amar
Bahadur Thapa, a local who looks after construction work. “We will stay here until October 15, which is generally taken as the flood period. By that time, work to protect the embankment will be completed,” he said. The Indian representative said that currently there was no security problem.

Over 15,000 displaced Indians in Morang, Sunsari

Over 15,000 displaced Indians of Arariya, Supoul, Baguwan, Basanpur, Dumarwana, Dhurna and other parts of Bihar state have come to Sunsari and Morang districts as of Thursday. They said they came to Nepal hoping to get relief after they were not provided even foodstuff for over a week in their country.

CDO of Sunsari, Durga Bhandari said they would offer humanitarian services to the Indians and would return them to Bihar in a few days. Over five million people in Bihar have been reportedly affected by the recent floods.

Flood moms struggle to save newborn

KOSHI DELUGE

BY THIRA L BHUSAL
INARUWA (SUNSARI), Aug 29

Incessant rain pounded the tin roof and the water dripped down. Coupled with the clamour and shout of women and children crammed inside a room that was dark in the afternoon, it was hard to make out what they were saying in their mother tongue.

Cradling an eight-day old daughter in her lap, Laludevi Sada was struggling to protect the newborn from the crowd inside the room at Bhagwati Secondary School in Inaruwa, Sunsari.
The school is being used as a camp for 1,570 displaced people who fled their villages 12 days ago to escape the Koshi flood. Among them, 781 are women and 791 children.

Laludevi was eating a meal handed out at the camp. Others could be seen struggling for the food that an elderly man was distributing inside the same room, which used to be a classroom.
A resident of Shripur-7 Kumiyai, Laludevi fled the village just hours before the Koshi washed it away completely. Four days after she left the village, she gave birth to a daughter at the district hospital near the camp.

Her husband Pritam left for Punjab in India eight months ago in search of work. He received both the good news (birth of daughter) and the bad (flooding) simultaneously. He is now on his way back home.

A soaked mat was spread on the plaster room. It was the only thing which the nursing mother could use as bedding under the dripping roof. Her diet was no different from what was distributed to the other displaced at the camp.

"We know very well that she needs special care in her condition. But, we are helpless," another women at the camp told the Post.

Rajendra Sada was holding his three-month-old son in an adjoining room. "I have been staying along this aisle because it is very difficult to protect such an infant inside this crowded room," he said. But, the baby caught a cold Thursday night due to the heavy rainfall. "I am so sad I could not even manage a thick cloth to cover him while the roof was dripping during the downpour," Rajendra said in a chocked voice.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are several other women who have given birth after fleeing their homes.

According to Inaruwa district hospital, 21 displaced women have given birth at the hospital as of Friday. Two women are still at the hospital while the rest were discharged and have returned to their camps.
"It's very hard to help them because besides their physical pain they would be in serious psychological agony," a health worker at the hospital said.

Equally serious is the condition of pregnant women at the camps.

Mother of six children, Rojitan Khatun of Kusaha-3 is nine months pregnant. Ajam Khatun, wife of Mohammad Salim Miya of Sripur-8, is eight months pregnant. There are scores of pregnant women in the camps. "Pregnant and nursing mothers are in a pathetic condition," said Harimaya Upreti, councilor from the Women's Rehabilitation Center (WOREC) Nepal.

WOREC representatives met 48 women at different camps with babies born less than 45 days ago, according to Binod Chaudhary, Program Officer of WOREC. Likewise, they consulted over 150 pregnant women in 14 camps, according to him. Chaudhary said WOREC started a center where women with babies less than 45 days old will be kept and given proper care.

"We started a center with a 20-person capacity Friday. This will be expanded," he said.

Hundreds still trapped

BY THIRA L BHUSAL AND LILA BALLAV GHIMIRE
LAUKAHI (SUNSARI), Aug 30

Though the swollen Koshi River has submerged Shripur, Yuddagunj, Kusyahi, Lahi and Naharchowk villages among others, in Sunsari district, hundreds of people have not yet evacuated their homes.

Some of them are staying inside the waterlogged houses risking their lives, while many others are trapped by violent currents at several places in the villages making them unable to evacuate.
Thousands of locals fled their homes as the raging river inundated entire villages, demolished houses and swept away huts after it breached the embankment at West Kusaha on August 18.
On Saturday, the local administration rescued 16 more people who had earlier refused to leave their homes, according to Chief District Officer of Sunsari Durga Bhandari. He estimates that there can be as many as 200 more people who are still unwilling to come out of the flooded areas. "When the water level increases, they send us messages requesting us to rescue them," Bhandari said, adding, "But, when we send boats or helicopters, they become reluctant."
Locals said many people have been trapped in the waterlogged villages. However, CDO Bhandari claimed Nepal Army personnel have reached each and every place and rescued all those willing to come out.

"There are many houses in which scores of people have been trapped. But, unfortunately we could not reach them with boats," Bindeshwor Mehta of Kusaha-8 told the Post at Laukahi, adding, "Yuddagunj, Lahi, Kusyahi and Naharchowk are such places." Mehta, who has been continuously involved in rescuing the locals and salvaging their belongings with his own boat from Tuesday, said that they (rescuers) could not reach many places due to very violent currents.
According to him many locals do not want to leave their homes fearing that burglars will take away all their belongings and valuables. Looters come with boats and take away the goods, locals said.
In most cases, locals have sent their children, women and the elderly to camps, to their relatives, or to other safer places.
Head of the families have stayed behind to guard properties. Some locals fled their homes requesting neighbors to look after their valuables.
"They have gathered inside concrete buildings as the river swept away the huts," Mehta said. Many have been taking refuge in a two-storey building belonging to former UML Member of Parliament Jagdish Kusiyat, he
said. There are several such buildings where people have found refuge but they are not totally safe. The flood waters can still wreck havoc on them.
Mehta has been ferrying people, animals and goods, making four to five trips a day in his boat, for the last 11 days. His boat can carry around 80
persons at a time,
according to him. There are 35 boats operating within the flood-devastated sites. Most are smaller than the one operated by Mehta.

‘Bodies decay’

Mehta said many people have been killed in the flood, and many others are missing. "Locals said several people have been killed or have disappeared. However, while making my rounds, I have clearly noticed five bodies
entangled in bushes at Kalastari, about two kilometers downward from the Nepal-India border," he said.
He could not identify any of the bodies. But one Rajendra Mehta who accompanied him, was able to identify the deceased, according to him. "They are all from Nepal. He can give every detail regarding them," Mehta said. Rajendra could not be located at the camps.
According to Mehta, the condition of those trapped by the Koshi is worsening each passing day. Those who earlier chose not to abandon their homes are now facing a crisis, he said.
"Likewise, many animals killed due to the flood are a pathetic sight. Dead animals could be seen floating on the Koshi," he said, adding, "Animals not yet swept away could be seen standing trapped at the same spots since several days."