Aagya Khabar
Sarlahi
Former Prime Minister and Chairman of CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Kumar Nepal has emphasized the urgent need to prioritize water conservation and storage in the Chure region to solve the ongoing water crisis in Madhes.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Pushpalal Memorial Building for Madhes Province held on Saturday at Bohoredanda in Parwanipur, Ward No. 15 of Lalbandi Municipality, Sarlahi, Nepal remarked, “If the rainwater that currently flows away needlessly during the monsoon were retained in the Chure, we wouldn’t be facing today’s drought and irrigation problems. The government must now prioritize these issues and move forward with serious planning.”
Sharing his travel experience from Biratnagar to Udayapur, Sindhuli, Mahottari, and finally to Sarlahi, Nepal noted that although recent rainfall has brought temporary relief to Madhes, a long-term solution requires immediate and strategic planning.
He suggested the construction of ponds in the Chure region to establish a groundwater recharge system. Expressing concern, Nepal stated that the ‘President Chure Conservation Program,’ which he initiated during his tenure as Prime Minister, has still not been implemented effectively.
“We had envisioned bringing water from the Saptakoshi River through Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, and up to the Bagmati region of Sarlahi to expand irrigation coverage. However, that plan has not progressed,” he said. Highlighting the current scenario, he added that only about 15 percent of Saptakoshi’s water is being diverted and used for irrigation purposes.
During the inauguration of the Pushpalal Memorial Building, Nepal also proposed building statues in honor of national political leaders and martyrs of the farmers’ movement in Madhes.
“If we can install statues of leaders like Ganeshman Singh, Girija Prasad Koirala, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Tulsilal Amatya, and Nirmal Lama, it would reflect our respect for national unity and history,” he said.
On the same day, Nepal also inaugurated a newly constructed concrete Chhath Ghat at Chitain in Haripur Municipality–7. Both the ghat and the memorial building were built under the budget of the Infrastructure Development Program within the provincial constituency of Madhes Province Assembly Member Bechi Lungele.
Former Prime Minister Nepal’s Saturday visit primarily focused on three key areas: water resource management, honoring national leaders and martyrs, and the development of religious and cultural infrastructures. His speeches clearly reflected a vision of sustainable solutions for Madhes through coordinated efforts involving both Chure and the Saptakoshi River system.
