400 Susta residents rescued; being moved to safe location
NAWALPARSI:- Efforts are underway to relocate residents of Susta village—situated across the Narayani River in West Nawalparasi—to a safe location on this side of the river. Although attempts to bring them over were made on Saturday, the process faced difficulties as the locals were initially unwilling to leave their homes. According to Chief District Officer Deepak Raj Nepal, following the continuous rise in the Narayani River’s water level, the residents are now being persuaded and relocated to safety.
Since Friday, most residents of Susta had been staying at a designated shelter within the village. Although the Narayani River has crossed the danger mark, Susta remains at high risk. After being persuaded by various parties today, arrangements have been made for those who had initially refused to leave their homes to stay at two schools within the Susta Rural Municipality, located on the near side of the Narayani River. “We made significant efforts yesterday, but they wouldn’t agree; now, seeing no signs of the floodwaters receding, we urged them again and have begun the evacuation,” said Chief District Officer Nepal.
Teams from the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force, and Nepal Police are working to bring locals—along with their livestock and belongings—to a safe location on this side of the river. Flooding in the Narayani River has already destroyed a dozen makeshift houses in Susta. Surendra Jung Thapa, Chief of the Nepal Army’s Gorakhdal Battalion, stated that operations are underway to rescue approximately 400 locals and relocate them to a school.
The water level in the Narayani River has been rising continuously since Friday. Currently, the water flow at the Gandak Barrage stands at 432,000 cusecs per second. Due to the aging infrastructure of the barrage, any flow exceeding 300,000 cusecs is considered hazardous. Chief District Officer Nepal stated that the downstream areas face heightened risk, as the flow remains high in the upstream regions.
