About 20 people walked from the southern province of Madhesh to the capital for 25 days with empty buckets on their heads. In the Chure region, which has a mountain range and several waterways, natural sources have dried up due to decades of exploitation. The government, however, is ignoring the situation.
Kathmandu () – Almost a week ago a group of Nepalese citizens arrived in the capital, Kathmandu, to protest against the exploitation of the areas where the Chure chain is located, a mountainous region on the border with India where natural sources of water are drying up due to decades of uncontrolled extraction of sand from river beds.
The protesters, 22 in total, walked for 25 days from the southern province of Madhesh carrying empty buckets on their heads on which they wrote: “Government, give us water”; “Save the trees without water”; “Stop the invasion of Chure.” They stated that they would not return to their place of origin until the government has heard what they are asking for.
But Kathmandu has not yet agreed to talk to the protesters. One of them is Sabita Kumari Mahato, younger sister of Dilip Kumar Maharo, an environmentalist murdered four years ago for protesting against illegal mining activities. Mahato told local media that despite the personal tragedy she and her family have suffered, the fight for the conservation of the Chure range today affects the entire region, and soon the entire nation. “We cannot survive without water“Nobody can,” he said. “So why doesn’t the government do almost anything about it?”
In some villages, natural water sources, which are also used for agriculture, have already dried up completely and residents are forced to wait for the government to send tankers. “At this rate, if the government does nothing, we will soon have to import water too,” Mahato said.
A parliamentary session on the budget opened on Tuesday, May 28, and the environmental group expected the government to allocate more funds for reforestation and water conservation than in last year’s budget. But that was not the case and the government did not introduce any changes to the existing projects.
Chure has been recognized as a protected area since 2014, the year in which the Presidential Council was created for the conservation of the region, which also includes the Tarai plain, often defined as the breadbasket of Nepal, because this is where most of the cereal production. However, according to some studies, the efforts made by the government have proven futile. On the one hand, the creation of irrigation ponds and canals has been too slow compared to the pace of mining extraction and deforestation; On the other hand, experts point out, an independent fund with full authority is needed to deal with different environmental issues.
Sunil Yadav, coordinator of the Chure and Forest Conservation Commission, which is spearheading the protest campaign, said it was shameful that local people had to depend on water tankers for their daily needs. “The Tarai is recognized as the breadbasket of the country, but in the coming years there will not be much to see because everything is drying up little by little” he said. “The effects of global warming can be seen everywhere: in the Tarai, in the hills and in the mountains. Soon the degradation of the Chure will affect the entire country, so where will the grains come from?” .
“Our ancestors were never forced to make such a long journey of suffering just for water. “I can’t imagine what awaits future generations,” he said. Sangita Devi Sada, who joined the campaign because two years ago the rivers in his village stopped flowing during the dry season. “My feet are covered in blisters and I can barely walk. Who will accompany this suffering? Who will listen to us?”
“The Kamala River, which normally flows all year round, has started to dry up,” repeats Sonabatti Mukhiya, 70. “It has become unrecognizable. Trucks and excavators arrive to remove sand and boulders at night. The police just watch. Are all agreed. If all this is not stopped, the Kamala River will soon disappear without a trace.”
12 petitions have been submitted to the government signed by Sabita, Sunil, Sangita, Sonabatti and all the other Nepalis who marched to Kathmandu. These include: the creation of a law to protect the mountain range, a ban on extracting sand from river beds and erecting buildings in the name of development, and an investigation into activities in forests, where extraction is generally illegal. .
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