Kathmandu: Work has started on a 3.5 km embankment from Gonarpur in Kolhuwa Bageya VDC in Mohattari district to the Jaleshwar Bardibas Road for keeping the Ratu River under control.

His Majesty’s Government Rural Community Infrastructure development program has provided Rs l,000,000 in cash and 2,500 quintals of rice for the construction work, it is learnt from the DDC.

Soil erosoin in  the Chure area has led to the a rise in river level year after year and this in turn has damaged hundreds of bigaha of land in the district, it is stated.

In particular the Jandha river in the western part of Mahottari has  changed course over the past few years to link up with the Ankusi and Ratu Rivers. This has had an adverse impact on Jaleshwar Municipality and various VDCs including Sarapalli, Balawa, Gonarpura, Koltuwa Bageya and Damarhi Madai. Since the past three years the Ratu has changed course to destroy cultivation in the Jaleshwar, Ratawada and Ramaul Bajarahi areas.

Work on the embankment construction has been divided into nine packages.

The package program is to cost about Rs l5 million, and a coordination and supervision committee has been formed under the convenorship of DDC chairman Tej Narayan Yadav to see to proper utilisation of available resources for the construction.

According to initial estimates, the embankment will be constructed at a total cost of Rs 55,200,000. Cooperation is being extended by the district irrigation office, the divisional roads office and others.