Embankment built to protect Chure watershed area

By Shaligram Nepal,Chitwan, Sept. 27: A river embankment has been constructed on the Riu River in Madi to protect the Chure watershed area. 

Shyam Babu Lopchan, the head of the Programme Implementation Unit of the President Chure-Tarai Madhes Conservation Development Committee, Bharatpur, informed that the embankment work was carried out to prevent the damage caused by rainfall in the Chure hills.

Soil erosion and resource depletion in the Chure region have negatively impacted the watershed, he said. 

To address this, permanent measures have been implemented at the origin and erosion-prone areas of the Riu River, which flows from Chure. 

The President Chure-Tarai Madhes Conservation Development Committee has been conducting conservation activities under the ‘Riu-Bagai River System Programme.’

The conservation of the Riu River is expected to benefit nine wards of Madi Municipality, Ward No. 28 of Bharatpur Metropolitan City and Ward No. 1 of Thori Rural Municipality in Parsa District.

Since the Riu River affects 8,970 households, special attention has been given to its conservation. Five major conservation works were completed just last year,  Lopchan said.

Information Officer Nabin Shrestha reported that the conservation work was completed for Rs. 11.2 million last year.

To prevent landslides and flash floods in Galchhi and Kharhare streams, Rs. 4 million was spent and Rs. 7.2 million was allocated for activities like tree plantation, environmental conservation infrastructure and pond construction. 

The conservation efforts will help mitigate the damage caused by water-induced disasters in the Chure, Bhabar and Tarai Madhes regions, Lopchan said.