Chandra Nahar, Nepal’s oldest irrigation system, has incurred damages worth over Rs5 million due to recent flooding. Several sections of the main canal’s dykes have collapsed, causing extensive harm.
The Chandra Nahar, completed in 1928, has sustained damage at two locations in Diwan, Tirahut Rural Municipality-4, according to Badri Narayan Yadav, president of the Chandra Nahar Irrigation System Water Users’ Committee. Yadav further noted that another section of the canal was breached at Chimti in Mahadeva Rural Municipality, along the Postal Road.
As a result, the entire irrigation system has been closed. “The damage exceeds Rs5 million,” Yadav reported.
The Koshi Pump Chandranagar Division Office has been working on the reconstruction of Chandra Nahar for the past two years, as it had been neglected for a long time. However, the recent flooding has set back these efforts.
Local farmers are now deeply concerned about the canal’s closure. Yadav expressed frustration, citing a lack of resources to carry out the necessary repairs and maintenance to restore the irrigation system.
