INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:

Kathmandu, July 28 The National Assembly has suggested the government to adopt measures for disaster risk mitigation and management. A team

of lawmakers led by Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, chairperson of the upper House, recently visited different parts of the country after the

incidents of floods, landslides and inundation claimed more than 100 lives throughout the country

The Tarai region was the worst-hit by rain-induced disasters. The NA report recommended that the government prepare a master plan for

lasting solution to problems facing people in the Tarai for decades due to floods and landslides during monsoon. The NA has also urged the

concerned authorities to make necessary diplomatic efforts with Indian counterparts for ending inundation problem in the Tarai

settlements. &Disproportionate exploitation of the Chure range has rendered the Tarai and Madhes more vulnerable to natural disasters

Therefore, the government should do needful to curb the ongoing encroachment of the Chure range,& the report stated. It has also urged the

government to incorporate the victims of flood and inundation into People Housing Programme which is currently limited to Dalits and highly

disadvantaged families. The government has been suggested to funnel the budget of this fiscal allotted for PHP in Province 2, bearing in

mind hundreds of families rendered homeless as a result of the recent disasters in the province. &The NA requests the government to relocate

vulnerable settlements to safe places by making a policy of prohibiting settlements in disaster-prone areas,& it read. The team of lawmakers

during its field visits found that some embankments constructed on rivers banks under the People Embankment Programme had been collapsed or

were swept away by floods

It urged the government to review the programme modality to ensure quality of embankments and their durability by developing an effective

standard. &It is necessary to redesign postal roads with culverts and bridges and humes pipes for drainage of rainwater

It is important to carry out plantation on the riverbanks by attaching priority to bioengineering, end encroachment on catchment area of

rivers, put an end to the practice of constructing road infrastructure without environmental study, regulate and control the extraction of

river products and establish emergency fund at local levels,& the report stated. The NA has also stressed the need for coordination among

the federal, provincial and local levels to enhance their disaster management capacity

Security agencies should be equipped with resource for effective search, rescue and relief operations and the locals should be equipped with

resource for disaster management, according to the report. The post Govt told to adopt measures to prevent disasters appeared first on The

Himalayan Times.