Kathmandu, Aug 2 : The State Affairs and Good Governance Committee has formed a 5-member team under the coordination of Krishna Gopal Shrestha to finalize the report prepared on the floods and inundation.
The Committee had the inspection visits to the floods and inundation-hit areas in eight districts of State 2 and the Kathmandu Valley. The members of the team to finalize the report are Yeshoda Subedi, Prem Suwal, Ramsahaya Prasad Yadav and Dilendra Prasad Badu.
The parliamentary committee prepared the monitoring report, arguing that random use of dozers in the hilly areas triggered the landslides, while the embankments constructed without proper engineering in Tarai/Madhesi exacerbated the inundation problem.
Similarly, in the discussion on the report, the lawmakers said the embankments built by India on boarder area were causing the inundations in Tarai/Madhes. The lawmakers suggested the monitoring team to update the information collected in course of the field visits.
Lawmaker Ramsahaya Prasad Yadav shared that in some areas, the government depended merely on the puffed rice and beaten rice (chyura) provided by the non-government organizations to the inundation survivors. Local levels must be made more responsible on rescue works and relief distribution, he stressed.
Similarly, Chhakka Bahadur Lama, viewed that growing deforestation, depletion of the Chure region, and development without long term plan were some causes of landslide and floods.
Lawmaker Bijay Subba said that it was necessary to help the government in its activities to dismantle the structures constructed by encroaching upon the rivers and streams.Saying a huge loss of lives and property occurred due to settlements on the banks of the river and rivulets including many areas including the Kathmandu Valley, Committee member Janardan Sharma expressed the view that lack of proper utilization of rainwater has abetted the disaster.
Likewise, Brijesh Kumar Gupta and Amaresh Singh stressed the need of sopping the trend of blaming neighbours. Lawmaker Tirtha Gautam said that haphazard use of excavators in hills under the leadership of people’s representatives has fomented incidents of natural disasters- flood and landslide, another member Nabaraj Silwal expressed the view that it was necessary to change the model of development as the concept of taking road facility to every settlement at any cost has invited destruction.
Similarly, lawmaker Mina Pandey suggested the empowerment of local levels for prompt rescue during natural disaster. Meanwhile, State Affairs and Good Governance Committee under the House of Representatives has started to make public the monthly attendance details of the members attending the meeting.
It was informed in the meeting that a total of 111 meetings were held from August 8, 2018 to mid-July 2019 where Rekha Sharma attended the highest number of meeting, which stood at 92. Similarly, lawmakers– Yashoda Subedi and Nabaraj Silwal– attended the meeting for 89th times while Bijay Subba for 88th times.
