Kathmandu: Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Minister, Deepak Khadka, held virtual discussions with ministers and secretaries from all seven provinces to assess the damage caused by recent floods and landslides across the country.
During Sunday’s meeting, Minister Khadka reviewed the impact of the floods and landslides and discussed future plans with provincial energy, water resources, and irrigation ministers. He emphasized the significant damage in these sectors, amounting to billions of rupees, and urged all three levels of government to collaborate on reconstruction efforts.
“We must immediately focus on ensuring health services, water supply, electricity availability, and temporary irrigation solutions to protect blooming crops. Coordinate with local governments, and the federal government will support you,” Minister Khadka said.
He also urged provincial governments to pool scattered budgets to accelerate project completion, noting that the strong coalition government should deliver tangible results to the public. Khadka stressed the need to reallocate unused budgets for project completion.
Energy Secretary Suresh Acharya highlighted the challenges in completing new projects due to the disasters and called for a focus on rebuilding existing projects. He also mentioned that the Finance Ministry had recently allocated NPR 5 billion for disaster management, which will be used to address immediate needs.
In the meeting, Koshi Province’s Minister for Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation, Ekaraj Karki, reported NPR 976.4 million in damage to irrigation and embankment systems caused by floods from October 10 to 12. Similarly, Madhesh Province Minister Sheshnarayan Yadav reported NPR 749.5 million in damage to irrigation and embankment infrastructure due to major river flooding.
Bagmati Province Minister Shyam Khadka stated that the province suffered NPR 1.97 billion in damage to irrigation and embankments, while Gandaki Province Minister Phanindra Devkota mentioned NPR 236.8 million in damages from three days of flooding and landslides.
Lumbini Province Minister Sita Sharma reported NPR 446.6 million in damages across 12 districts, while Karnali Province Minister Vijaya Budha noted NPR 331.3 million in losses. Sudurpaschim Province Minister Surendra Bahadur Pal revealed that his province suffered NPR 470 million in flood and landslide damages.
