Floodwater from Talcha Airport damages nearby farmlands

BY HARI KRISHNA AIDI,Mugu, July 27: The lack of proper water management at Talcha Airport has caused severe flooding each year during the monsoon, devastating large areas of arable land in the Mugu district. Continuous rainfall and unmanaged runoff from the airport have turned fertile farmland into wasteland, leaving hundreds of families in distress.

According to Laxmi Bham, Ward Chairman of Ward No. 4 in Chhayanath Rara Municipality, more than 392 households from Bhamwada, Rawalbada, and Sejuwalwada have been severely affected. Floodwaters from Talcha to Bhattechaur have eroded over 100 hectares of cultivable land, forcing families into uncertainty and despair. Bham stated that 20 homes near Talcha and Kalpalt are currently at high risk due to the encroaching floodwaters.

Local resident Nanda Bahadur Rokaya said that due to the lack of any water drainage system from Talcha Airport to Bhattechaur, floodwaters continue to wash away farmland every year. “With cultivable land eroding each year, locals are compelled to migrate to neighboring districts or India in search of work,” he added.

According to locals, the uncontrolled water flow causes 30 to 50 metres of land erosion each year, endangering the surrounding ecosystem.

Last Sunday, floodwaters from Talcha washed away paddy fields in Bhuwa, including one ropani of land that could yield two sacks of rice. “All we could do was watch helplessly as the water eroded everything,” said local Shiva Lal Byal. “The flood might turn my family and neighbours into landless squatters.”

Ramil Bariya, Chief of the Civil Aviation Office at Talcha Airport, said that water management exists only within the immediate vicinity of the airport. “The airport does not manage water flow beyond its boundary. It’s up to the local and provincial governments to take responsibility beyond that,” he said.

Provincial Assembly Member and former Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest, and Environment, Jit Bahadur Malla, stated that there are no current plans at the provincial level to mitigate flooding in the affected areas. However, he said that efforts are underway to coordinate with the federal government for flood control along the Buk Khola.

Despite the worsening crisis, neither the Talcha Airport authorities, the local municipality, nor the provincial government has implemented any concrete plans to manage the water or prevent further damage. As a result, floodwaters have caused losses amounting to millions of rupees in arable land, driving the local population toward displacement and deepening poverty.