{"id":20019267,"date":"2016-06-30T05:30:04","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T00:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thethirdpole.net\/?p=19267"},"modified":"2021-02-17T20:58:30","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T15:28:30","slug":"drought-in-the-mid-hills-koshi-basin-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/drought-in-the-mid-hills-koshi-basin-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Roaring rivers, thirsty people: Koshi Basin Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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This is the second in a four part series.<\/em> thethirdpole.net<\/a>\u2019s Nepal Editor Ramesh Bhushal and photographer Nabin Baral travelled along the tributaries of the Koshi River from near Tibet to the Indian border to report on the challenges faced by people living in the region.<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As we move down the Sunkoshi River along the newly built Sindhuli Bardibas highway<\/a> that links the Himalayas with the Terai plains, we reach villages in the south-eastern parts of Nepal. The people are suffering a severe water crisis. Trapped between the lofty mountains and roaring rivers, most of the villages in this part of the Koshi basin have very limited water available for drinking or for irrigation. In this region, rivers are of very little use as they flow through deep valleys with the snow-capped mountains far above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"access<\/div>
Despite being a water abundant country, access to water in Nepal varies greatly between districts. In contrast, nearly all of the Indian districts in the Koshi basin have high access to water. Click the image to see more datasets with ICIMOD\u2019s Koshi Basin Information System.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Nepal is ranked among the world\u2019s most water rich countries, with over 6,000 rivers containing about 225 billion cubic metres of water. However, much of this is out of reach. Nepal\u2019s per capita water availability is 8,000 cubic metres by the government\u2019s calculation, but less than 7% of the country\u2019s<\/a> water has been used. \u201cWe don\u2019t have enough infrastructure to regulate water flow and direct it to the places where it is needed,\u201d said Madhav Belbase, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Irrigation in Nepal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA couple of decades ago we used to have winter paddy cultivation because there was adequate water in April. Now we don\u2019t have water to grow maize,\u201d said Bhakta Bahadur Shrestha from Bhimeshwor village in Sindhuli district. Taps in the village were dry, fields were cracked and maize plants were desperately waiting for water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n