Budget crunch has affected the construction of an embankment that aims to protect the residents of Chitwan and Nawalparasi East from inundation and erosion caused by floods in the Narayani river during the monsoon.

Manohar Kumar Sah, head of the Narayani River Management Project, said that the contractors of the embankment construction are upset because they could not get payment for the work done in the current financial year due to which the progress of the embankment construction was greatly affected.

To control floods in the Narayani River, a major river system in the country, construction of a 35-kilometre embankment on the Chitwan side and a 57-kilometre embankment on the Nawalparasi side is underway.

“Along with the embankments towards Nawalparasi area and Bharatpur area in Chitwan in the Narayani River, the embankment construction is also underway in the Kayar stream and Riu stream in Chitwan. The first phase of constructing a 31 km embankment in Chitwan and Nawalparasi is currently going on,” said Sah.

"The contractors are unhappy because they have not been paid Rs424 million for the work they completed so far in the current fiscal year. The contractors on the Bharatpur side alone have not received Rs375.6 million despite submitting the necessary bill vouchers to the office. We have sent a file to the Finance Ministry asking for funds. We hope the amount will be sent soon.”

Floods-prone settlements are prioritised in the first phase, as part of which, an embankment of 20.5 kilometres is being constructed towards the Bharatpur side and 10.5 kilometres towards the Nawalparasi side currently.

According to Sah, work is being done by making five sections towards Bharatpur, of which one section should be completed by the end of the next fiscal year while four sections should be completed by December 30, 2024. Due to the payment issue, around 41 percent of the work has been done in all five sections collectively, said Sah.

The least amount of work has been done in the 5.6-kilometre Sisai, Bhagadi, and Baluwa sections located in wards 26 and 27 of the Bharatpur metropolis. An agreement was signed with Sharma Construction Company and Sagun Construction Company for the embankment construction on the 5.6-kilometre section on June 23, 2022 at a cost of Rs370 million. According to the agreement, the construction should be completed by June 23, 2024, but so far, only eight percent of the work, worth a total of Rs31.5 crore, has been completed.

“We could not continue embankment construction as the government has not released amounts for the works we have already completed. Even the project head is not sure when the budget will be released. After work, I have to pay for my labourers, and if I don't have money, how am I going to convince them to work?” said Nahakul Khadka, a representative of Sagun Construction Company. “The construction of the embankment was also affected due to the shortage of 50-centimetre-big stones. Recently, we got the stones, and preparation is going on to transport them and accelerate the construction, but it is not sure when the contractors will be paid.”

Khadka went on, “The area we are constructing comes under the buffer zone area of Chitwan National Park, due to which we have to face various difficulties getting permission to work. Renu Dahal, mayor of the Bharatpur Metropolis, who came for the inspection and to monitor the construction work on Sunday, said that she would help us get permission from the park officials and start the work.”

Although there has been 41 percent progress towards the Chitwan side, only 20 percent progress has been made towards the Nawalparasi side.

The Narayani River, one of the biggest rivers in Nepal, causes flooding and erosion in Ramghat, Shivghat, Mangalpur, Gunjanagar, Dibyanagar, and Meghauli settlements in Bharatpur Metropolitan City. Similarly, the problem of flooding and erosion in the lower areas of Mukundpur, Rajhar, Pitholi, Naya Belhani, Prasauni, Narayani, and Kolhuwa settlements in Gaindakot Municipality and Kawasoti Municipality in Nawalparasi is also the same.

To prevent problems caused by the Narayani River in this area, the ‘People's Embankment’ Programme was started in the fiscal year 2009–2010. At that time, there was a master plan to build 97 kilometres of embankment on both sides by spending Rs10 billion, but only around 17 kilometres of embankment were built by spending a total of Rs760 million. For the remaining work, the Narayani River Management Project was started in the financial year 2020–2021.

“A budget of Rs4.72 billion has been secured from the Ministry of Finance for the first phase of work, and due to economic slowdown, the budget has not come on time as requested in recent years, resulting in the non-payment of Rs375.6 million. The work of the first phase should be completed within the financial year 2025-2026,” said Sah.

Kumar Acharya, one of the contractors who has embanked nearly nine kilometres from Bahraghare to Kabreghat and Gajipur to Hirapur, says that he is continuing the work in the hope of getting payment soon. Acharya is the only contractor among three whose work is being appreciated by everyone.

“On the basis of the bill voucher that has reached the office of the project, the office has not paid an amount of Rs370 million to the contractors, but I have done work worth almost Rs500 million alone, but I have sent some of my bills to the office because they don't have money,” said Acharya.

The embankment will be nine-metres high and six-metres wide, and can also be used as a road. If the embankment is completed, 35,000 bighas of arable land will be saved from erosion and flooding. After the embankment, in Hirapur, 65 bighas of land that was eroded by the river can be used.

According to project officials, in Hirapur, an embankment has been built about one and a half kilometres from the bank where the river has eroded. The embankment has benefited 197,996 people from 45,785 households living in different settlements in Chitwan and Nawalparasi.

After being elected for the first term, Mayor Dahal said that after seeing the flood in the Narayani and Rapti areas in July 2017, she prepared a comprehensive plan for embankment.

“Despite the delay in the budget, the construction work on the embankment is satisfactory,” said Dahal.

However, the local people are worried about the possible flooding due to the delayed embankment construction. Manju Mahato, from Bhagadi in Bharatpur-26, said that she always lives in fear during the rainy season, and she is worried for the upcoming monsoon because, although embankments are being built in other areas, the work is not progressing towards her village.

“The embankments are being built slowly, but I think we are being neglected. The authorities assure us that work will start soon in my area, but they never say exactly when. The locals of my village can only take a sigh of relief after the embankment is completed,” said Mahato.

Shamsher Pariyar, a 55-year-old man from Bharatpur-26, said that work has stopped after building an embankment up to Hirapur, and work on the section protecting his home and fields has not progressed.

“I had 25 kattha of land, and five kattha of land was cut off by the Narayani River in different floods,” Pariyar said. “I don’t know whether or not I will be able to stay home in peace during the monsoon.”