India has stopped the construction of a controversial dam 200 metres south of the border with Nepal that threatened to inundate Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, from July 10.
Water Resources Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachedhar made the announcement while making a statement of public importance at the National Assembly Wednesday.
Nepal had earlier asked India to stop the unilateral construction of the dam. Unilateral construction of dams and embankments south of the border by India, a lower riparian state, has marred bilateral relations in the past.
The unilateral constructions have stopped the natural flow of the Nepal’s river systems contributing 60 percent of the water flow of the India’s Ganges river while inundating the terai plains in Nepal.