Back to news

22 Aug 2016 | Voices from the field

Photo Story: Monsoon Wreaks Havoc in Sindhupalchowk

1 min Read

After the 5 July Bhotekoshi flood in Sindhupalchowk, a team from the HYCOS Initiative of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) visited Barahbise and talked with several people living and working along the Arnico Highway.

Some twenty truckloads of stone was dumped to reinforce Bahrabise bridge’s supporting pillar.

Rajesh Thapa, operator at the Sunkoshi Hydropower Station, received flood alert calls from friends and was able to raise all six bridge gates to release the flood waters unimpeded.

Floodwater dumped stones and boulders at the mouth of the gates, leaving one gate with minor damage.

Debris blocks the flow of water into the diversion intake canals. The 10-MW Sunkoshi Hydropower Stations is currently non-operational.

Recent flooding deposited a large amount of sand in an artificial lake created by the 2014 Jure landslide which blocked the Sunkoshi river. This phenomenon is known as ‘sand casting’.

A cloudburst washes away parts of the Jure road making it impassable until a bulldozer was dispatched by the Department of Roads.

A heavier monsoon means a greater flood risk to downstream communities.

One of many residents of Khadichaur who fled floodwaters that fateful night, Mane Majhi. Like many residents, Majhi was separated in the dark from his father who later returned with a t-shirt full of washed-up fish.

Locals from Ramche VDC worry rain and road construction could trigger landslides and rockfalls.

Mandira Shrestha, HYCOS/ICIMOD Programme Coordinator said what happens upstream in China can have severe consequences downstream in Nepal. Dr Shrestha emphasised the need for transboundary cooperation in terms of flood data sharing and setting up of flood early warning systems, not to mention landslide hazard mapping and mitigation.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related Content

Continue exploring this topic

25 Jan 2018 Voices from the field

Conservation of natural resources in Myanmar: lessons for REDD+ Interventions

Myanmar has high deforestation and forest degradation rates. A recent article in The Myanmar Times reads. “Myanmar’s forests are in ...

15 Jun 2017 Voices from the field

Gender and Governance Perspectives in Theory and Practice

The German writer and ...

5 Apr 2017 Voices from the field

Farmers in AdaptHimal pilot see promise in beekeeping

In March 2017, a team of agriculture and beekeeping specialists visited six neighbouring paras (villages) in Khagrachari district of the ...

2 Feb 2017 Voices from the field

Beekeeping in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A Success Story

The Asiatic honeybee Apis cerana is indigenous to, among other regions, the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. It is found ...

30 Jun 2017 Voices from the field

REDD+ in Chitwan: Finding balance for biodiversity protection in national parks

The National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) has been working in Nepal since 1982. For over two decades, the autonomous ...

5 Apr 2017 Voices from the field

Beekeeping a promising option for farmers in Himalica pilot sites in Ruma Upazila

Pollination is a vital ecosystem service that is essential for ensuring human food security as well as maintaining natural ecosystems. ...

3 May 2017 Voices from the field

Fostering Entrepreneurship in the Kailash Sacred Landscape

As a student of commerce and management, I have heard the word ‘entrepreneurship’ being thrown around quite frequently. Often, the ...

5 Oct 2016 Voices from the field

Naubise farmer finds relief in climate smart practices

Farmer Sita Neupane is the talk of the town this summer. Ms Neupane earned a whopping NPR 70,000, selling cucumbers ...