Siraha: Amar Lal Yadav used to support his family from his own farm till four years ago. Yadav of Tilbona village in Lahan Municipality-23 is struggling to support his family. The only reason for this is the return of the river Balan. In a span of three years, his 2 bighas of arable land were swallowed by the Balan River. His red card is in his hand, the land has turned into a river.
Mahendra Yadav of the same village is no different. His 1 bigha of land has been turned into a river. There is a red card. No land. Fulchan Yadav's 10 kattha land has been turned into a bagar by the river. Farmers have been affected after the Balan River started swallowing arable land. Karaiya, Tilbona of Lahan Municipality-23, Simaraha of Sakhuwanankarkati Municipality-4, and some villages of Bhagwanpur Municipality were excellent in terms of grain production. Raju Yadav, a local, said that the fear of food crisis has also increased after the river, which is considered as a boon for these densely populated villages, started wreaking havoc in recent times.
"In the past, paddy, lentil, almond, and wheat fields were mixed in the river," he said. "It made us miserable."
In the past, water from the northeast of the village flowed to the south. The people here used to come easily to the secret flowing stream. However, in 2046 BS, Balan suddenly shifted to the west and flooded the field. The river did not stop cutting towards the village. Five years later, Balan again submerged hundreds of bighas of farmland, 'said Amar Lal Yadav of Tilbona. The river is being swallowed by the river every year as prevention and control work can be done even after appealing to all the leaders from the administration. He said that more than 10 bighas of land have been mixed in the river this year alone.
Many streams have formed in the Balan River by mixing with the Jhijhir River. The last flood has started cutting the west bank of the river. The Balan River, which originates in the Chure, is not so destructive. Locals in the area say that the river has changed its course due to uncontrolled exploitation of the river.
1 and 4 of Bhagwanpur village municipality, 5 and 4 of Sakhuwanankarkatti, and 23 of Lahan municipality are at risk when the Balan River changes its course to the west. Locals estimate that the floods of the Balan River a year ago have eroded many bighas of arable land in these wards.
Last year, an embankment was constructed on the Balan River near Tilbona village. According to the locals, they stopped the work after it started getting of poor quality. "Later, the leaders worked together, but no concrete work was done. This year's water flooded the embankment and eroded the land, 'said local Mahendra Yadav. We are suffering. We don't have a big demand from the government. Save cultivable land by an embankment.
