Protection wall along river Kali on Indo-Nepal border at Dharchula completed
Protection wall along river Kali on Indo-Nepal border at Dharchula completed
B.D.Kasniyal
Pithoragarh, Aug 1
The protection wall along river Kali which forms the border between India and Nepal to protect the border town of Dharchula from flooded river during monsoon period has been completed by the irrigation department.
“With the construction of the protection wall, the town has become safe from monsoon floods of river Kali, that were damaging residential houses, destroying cultivable soil and other government establishment located in the lower areas of Dharchula town for the past several years ,” said Shalu Datal, a resident of Dharchula town.
“The protection wall, made of cement and concrete is almost 1 km long from Ghatkhola to stadium and has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 77 crores. The wall is on an average 13 feet high and able to protect the town from river floods,” said Farhan Ahmed, executive engineer of irrigation department .
The need to construct a protection wall along river Kali to protect Indian establishments along the river bank, arose after Nepal constructed a protection wall on its own side of river bank in the year 2013 leading to flood waters gushing towards Indian side causing damage to houses and farms. “We have raised the demand of construction of protecting wall at our side also,” said Bhupendra Thapa, president of Dharchula Vyapar Sangh.
As soon as the Indian side started constructing protection wall, the Nepalese miscreants had started pelting stones on Indian workers.” From September to December 2022, these miscreants pelted stones on more than a dozen occasions and the situation could be brought under control after the intervention of officials from both the countries,” said Bhupendra Thapa.
The Nepalese miscreants ceased pelting stones on Indian workers from across the border only after Indian traders resorted to forced close of the the border bridge on the river.
“Despite the construction of protection wall, the town is not fully protected from natural disasters till Aildhara landslide slopes which threaten upper parts of Dharchula market are treated, ” said Shalu Datal, a resident of Dharchula. The Aildhara landslides last year, damaged six houses in the Dharchula market. “Despite administrative assurance, the work on to treat Aildhara slope has not yet been started,” said Bhupendra Singh Thapa, president of Dharchula Vyapar Sangh.
