Dodhara Chandani’s Basanti Sunar Urges CM Bhatta to Act on Rising Climate Disaster Risks

Mahendranagar: The provincial government has been urged to take immediate and long-term initiatives to reduce the growing risk of climate-related disasters in Sudurpaschim Province, particularly in Kanchanpur.

Basanti Sunar, secretary of the Kutiyakabar Community Disaster Management Committee in Dodhara Chandani Municipality, Kanchanpur, and vice-chairman of the Community Disaster Management Committee Province Network, Sudurpaschim, has made the appeal through an open letter to Chief Minister Khagraj Bhatta.

In the letter, Sunar stated that the risk of floods, inundation, river erosion and displacement has been increasing every year in settlements along rivers and streams including the Mahakali, Jogbudha and Doda. She also pointed to extreme heat and heat waves as emerging serious risks in recent years, affecting agriculture, health, education, drinking water, labor and livelihoods.

Sunar has called for effective implementation of a Heat Action Plan at the provincial level, with extreme heat recognized as a primary disaster risk. She has also urged arrangements for risk-adapted work schedules, safe drinking water, shade, resting places and first aid for outdoor workers.

Similarly, she has demanded that schools in the Terai, including Kanchanpur, be made heat- and climate-resilient through heat-reflective roofs and paint, adequate fans and electrification, safe drinking water, tree plantation and expanded green school programs.

The open letter calls for increased investment in climate-resilient agriculture and irrigation, including climate-friendly seeds, technology, rainwater harvesting, alternative irrigation systems and sustainable water management. It also urges the immediate repair of irrigation canals and structures damaged by floods and other disasters.

Sunar has urged the provincial government to strengthen risk mapping, early warning systems, safe shelters and search and rescue equipment in settlements along the Mahakali, Jogbudha and Doda rivers. She has also called for priority to be given to biological embankments, bio-engineering, tree plantation, riverbank conservation and nature-based solutions wherever possible.

The letter also calls for adequate disaster management and contingency funds at the provincial and local levels. Sunar has demanded immediate relief and livelihood restoration programs targeting daily wage-dependent families, children, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, single women and economically vulnerable communities during disasters.

She has stressed the need to institutionalize the participation of community-based disaster management committees, women’s groups, youth, volunteers and civil society organizations in disaster preparedness, search and rescue, first aid, early warning and climate adaptation programs.

Sunar has also urged transparent and effective implementation, monitoring, social accountability and impact assessment of budgets allocated for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. She has called for scientific risk identification and mapping of vulnerable local levels, wards and settlements, particularly in the river and coastal areas of Kanchanpur.

The open letter further demands effective implementation of the disaster insurance, accident insurance, search and rescue capacity enhancement, modern rescue equipment, human resource development and disaster-resilient development programs included in the policies and programs for fiscal year 2083/084, with clear action plans, adequate budgets and timelines.

“Climate change is not a potential future crisis, but a reality being experienced today,” Sunar stated in the letter. She urged the provincial government to focus on pre-disaster preparedness, risk reduction, climate adaptation, nature-based solutions, safe infrastructure and community resilience rather than limiting efforts to post-disaster relief and response.

Sunar also expressed commitment, on behalf of community-based disaster management committees, youth and civil society representatives, to work with the provincial government to bring community concerns into policies and plans, identify risks and contribute to building a climate-resilient Sudurpaschim.

She concluded by urging Chief Minister Bhatta to provide leadership and take positive decisions and effective implementation measures to build a safe, inclusive and climate-resilient Sudurpaschim.