Decades on, families displaced by Koshi denied compensation

BY BABU RAM KARKI,Barahakshetra, Mar. 12: The Saptako shi River, spread over the widest area, has washed away homes and dreams of thousands of people along with water, sand and stone. Floods and landslides in the river have displaced more than 4,000 families. Those displaced for five decades have not been able to get compensation until now.

The river which is 10 kilometres south of Chatara from the Barahakshetra Temple has entered many human settlements after reaching the Tarai plains. Many families have been displaced since 1965. 

Prahlad Thapa, 65, of Chatara, has been paying the tax for the washed away land every year in the hope of getting compensation. A flood in 1965 had washed away 25 bighas of Thapa's land. Like Thapa, more than 4,000 households have been hoping to get compensation for their lost land.

Durga Paudel of Barahakshetra-10 had transferred the land ownership certificates of 10 katthas of land each to his three sons and three daughters. But now the land is of no use. He has also been paying revenue for underwater land with the hope of getting compensation.

Because of Koshi River, thousands of families in former village development committees -- Barahakshetra, Mahendranagar, Prakashpur, Madhuban, Paschim Kusaha, Shreepur Jabdi and Haripur -- have become homeless. These victims from more than 3,900 households who lost 4,074 bighas of land in total have been protesting for the past five years demanding compensation.

According to Lal Bahadur Limbu (Johny), chairman of the Koshi Inundation Victim Struggle Committee, basic rights of the victims such as food, shelter, clothing, education and health were violated due to river flooding and erosion from 1965 to 1989. He said, "There was a dense settlement in the Koshi Tappu before the construction of the Koshi Barrage and East-West Embankment under the Koshi Plan. After the construction work, the settlements were displaced due to flooding and land erosion.”

The river entered the settlements by breaking the Sidhure Tappu dam on June 10, 1965. This turned all the human settlements into rivers and streams. Many locals took shelter under trees in Chakraghatti. Additionally, big floods in 1968, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984 and 1986 also caused huge loss to the locals.

The displaced Koshi victims of Chatara (Barahakshetra) and Mahendranagar have settled in the forest area of Bange. There is a dense settlement of victims in former Prakashpur-4 and 5, Mahendranagar-3, 5, 6 and 9 and Barahakshetra-1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.

Padam Bahadur Karki of Prakashpur said that in 1978 Minister Marich Man Singh provided the land ownership certificates after measurements. The victims still have those certificates and have been paying taxes for the land.

So far, the government has not done anything in favour of the victims except by forming Baikuntha Chand Commission, Ram Prasad Khatiwada Settlement Committee, Kumar Paudel Commission and distributing assurances.

Koshi Barrage causing displacement

The water level of the river rises every year since soil, sand and gravel that flow along the river settle in the plains. Because of this, there are floods in Koshi at different times and the course of the river changes resulting in the displacement of the residents.

The Koshi Barrage has been the main reason for flooding and displacement since 1965.  

After the Koshi agreement between Nepal and India, the barrage was built in 1954 resulting in displacement of settlements in Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur. 

As per the agreement on April 27, 1954, Nepal handed over the right to use the water and the transfer of the Koshi Project site to India for 199 years. 

Since India holds the executive authority, it has been opening and closing doors of the barrage at its convenience. When the water does not flow easily, the sand accumulates and the water level rises even when there is a small flood.

In the Saptakoshi River area, the river forms sand islands every year and the lack of external drainage of the sand is becoming the main reason behind the rise in surface area. The river with a capacity to hold 900,000 cusecs of water falls under the risk when the water capacity reaches 150,000 cusecs over the past few decades.