Blockage of drainage causes flooding along Mawa-Bakraha road section

BY HARI PRASAD KOIRALA

Urlabari, Aug. 4: A new dispute has surfaced in the Urlabari section of the East-West Highway, which is being expanded with the support of Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Urlabari Municipality has demanded that a drainage channel be constructed along the edge of settlements after flooding occurred on the northern side of the three-kilometre road segment between the Mawa and Bakraha rivers at the municipality’s eastern border. 

The highway is being built nearly 10 feet higher than the northern settlements in the Bakraha River area. Although the road elevation gradually decreases westward, the blockage of natural drainage has caused floods in the northern areas. The drains built along the elevated road channel water flow southwards, leaving no outlet for runoff from the north.

Mayor Ganga Prasad Kharel said old natural streams had been filled, worsening the situation. “If drains are not constructed on both sides of the highway to channel water from the Itabare and Malwanse petrol pump areas into the Bakraha and Mawa rivers, there will be a risk of flooding,” he added. 

Continuous rainfall for 5-6 hours has already flooded roadside areas in Ward Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7 of Urlabari, prompting the municipality to seek a solution urgently.

Jagat Prajapati, head of the Kakadbhitta-Laukahi Road Project (West Section) under the ADB Directorate, said the problem arose because natural culvert outlets had been blocked.

 “This is not a new problem. The project has spent millions constructing the Mawa Bridge, but there is no water inflow from the north and no outlet towards the south. Not just at the bridge, none of the culverts between the Mawa and Bakraha rivers have proper water outlets,” he said, adding that the original survey did not consider rainwater management. “The riverbed is higher than the areas where water collects, so creating drainage toward the river is challenging.”

Mayor Kharel said the municipality is now consulting with the Federal Water Supply and Sewerage Management Project to design and implement a drainage system to channel water from the northern areas into both rivers. Similarly, Project Chief Prajapati confirmed that the federal water supply project is preparing to resolve the drainage issue. 

However, he attributed the problem partly to local settlement patterns, saying construction practices adopted by the locals have worsened the flooding situation.