Nepal Minister directs officials to start preparing for flood talks with India

Kathmandu [Nepal], July 18 : Nepal's Water Minister Barshaman Pun has directed his officials to start preparing for talks with India over inundation problems faced by the Himalayan nation, especially the country's Terai region in the south, in the wake of incessant rainfall for the past few days.
India and Nepal are both facing the problem of inundation during monsoon season and hundreds of lives have been lost in the past.
In a meeting on late Friday afternoon, Pun directed officials to prepare for Nepal-India Joint Committee on Inundation and Flood Management (JCIFM) where the issue of flooding will be raised.
"Due to the inundation, the Terai region is facing a problem. We would need to call on Indian sides to resolve on the problem created on by the dams constructed on their side by calling on the meeting of JCIFM. Start preparations for it," the Minister said.
Nepal and India have been holding on the meeting of JCIFM annually on November but the Ministry has started on preparations to inform the Indian side with immediate effect after receiving a direct order from the Minister.
"Annual meeting is held in the month of November but this time we have got the direct order from Minister so we will be informing the Indian side with immediate effect," said Rabindrathan Shrestha, Secretary at the ministry.
The Joint Commission formed by India and Nepal to discuss on the issue will be led by Director General of Nepal's Irrigation Department Madhukar Prasad Rajbhandari.
Earlier this week, Nepal's Minister for Home Affairs had blamed India for the inundation of Terai region during the annual monsoon season.
Earlier this week, Nepal Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa blamed India for constructing structures along the border, which he claimed blocked the flow of water and resulted in inundation of various places of the country.
Bihar Water Resources Minister had said last month that Nepal had stopped all repair work of river embankments in Bihar on the India-Nepal border by erecting barriers and effectively putting a stop to work done by India to prevent flooding of its low-lying areas.
Thapa had said some diplomatic steps undertaken by the Nepal government in order to solve but said it did not work out well.
"Agreements over it were signed at the time of Indian Prime Minister's visit to Nepal but all of them are yet to be implemented," he said
At least 60 people have died while 41 have gone missing in floods and landslides in the last four days in various parts of Nepal.
Myagdi district of Western Nepal is the worst affected with 27 deaths.