154 Projects underway in Darchula and Baitadi to curb soil erosion and protect water resources

Darchula: The Land and Watershed Management Office, Darchula under the Sudurpaschim Provincial Government has stated that it has been playing an important role in protecting water resources and controlling annual soil erosion in Darchula and Baitadi. The government has said that significant efforts are being carried out this year for the conservation of old water sources and soil erosion control.

The office, operating under the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment of the provincial government, has implemented various activities in different locations of Darchula and the hilly district of Baitadi to protect water sources and control soil erosion.

According to office chief Binod Shah, the provincial government has undertaken multiple initiatives in the current fiscal year 2082/83 to protect houses, agricultural land and fallow land from soil erosion caused by monsoon and other factors. He said the office is working on soil erosion control, construction of embankments along riverbanks, protection of water sources and construction of recharge ponds in both districts.

He informed that a total of 154 projects are being implemented in Darchula and Baitadi in the current fiscal year. Of these, 44 projects have been completed by mid-Baishakh, with a financial progress of 29.27 percent.

He added that construction of the remaining projects is progressing rapidly and all are expected to be completed by Ashar. The provincial government had allocated a total of Rs 152.7 million to the Land and Watershed Management Office, Darchula for soil erosion control, embankment construction, water source protection and recharge pond development in the current fiscal year. He also said that Rs 44.7 million 2,010 of the capital budget has been spent so far.

Nar Bahadur Bohora, a local resident of Malli Chananpani in Purchaudi Municipality-3, expressed satisfaction that government investment in soil erosion control has helped protect his cultivable land and house. A stone wall with gabion mesh has been installed in the erosion-prone area.

So far, the office has implemented 28 embankment construction projects in Darchula and Baitadi to protect settlements from river erosion. It has also completed three irrigation projects and nine landslide and erosion control projects.

Surendra Bahadur Bam, a resident of Duhu Rural Municipality-4, Darchula, said that the problem of erosion has decreased to some extent after the construction of embankments along riverbanks.