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Mangal Sah (74) says this is the longest stretch of drought he has seen in his life so far. “I have never seen such a long dry spell,” Sah said. “There is no water in the canal, nor in the bore wells. Cracks are starting to appear in paddy fields. Only God knows how the harvest will be.”

Farmers, who are dependent on monsoon rains for farming, are suffering from the protracted drought. The low volume of water in the Gandak Canal has only compounded their woes.

Mangal’s neighbor, Bigu Yadav of Telkuwa in Mahagadhimai-7 of Bara, said bore wells have dried up in his neighborhood. “We would have used a pumpset to irrigate fields, but even the Gandak canal doesn’t have water,” he added.

Hridaya Yadav, another farmer from Telkuwa, has a similar story to share. “Although there is Gandak Canal nearby, it is of no use for us because the water flow is always very low. We cannot even pump water to the field using a pumpset,” he added.

Farmers in the command area of the canal in Parsa, Bara, and Rautahat have been suffering since India stopped releasing water in the canal as per the agreement about a decade ago. The long spell of drought this year has made things difficult for them. 

According to the Gandak Agreement signed by Nepal and India, India must release 850 cusecs of water in the canal meant for Nepal. However, India has been releasing half of the agreed-upon volume since 2013/14, according to Suresh Sah, the information officer of the Narayani Irrigation Management Office, Birgunj.

This year, India started releasing water into the canal about two months later. Even then, it was only 200 cusecs. After repeated requests, India is currently releasing 500 cusecs.

“We have repeatedly met with Indian officials at the Dona-based office of the Gandak Canal and requested them to release water as per the agreement. But our requests are falling on deaf ears,” Sah said. “Since India is not releasing sufficient water in the canal, we are providing water to Parsa and Bara every three days.”

According to Sah, the canal can supply water to only 12 blocks in Bara. “We have been failing to supply water to the canal in Rautahat ever since the canal was built,” he added.

The plan was to irrigate 37,400 hectares in Parsa, Bara, and Rautahat from the Gandak canal. But since India is not supplying the agreed-upon volume, the officials have been unable to send water to Rautahat.

Although India is supplying 1,500 cusecs of water in the canal coming toward Nepal from the barrage, only 500 cusecs remain in the canal when it enters Nepali territory.

“Indian officials tell us that they cannot send a high volume of water into the canal, stating that the canal’s structure is weakening,” Sah said. “But the structure is comparatively better on the Nepali side compared to India because we are doing periodic maintenance.” He added that India should release water to Nepal as per the agreement by repairing the canal on their side, if need be.

Since the Gandak Canal is already five decades old, Sah said there is a need to revisit the agreement now.

As per the agreement, India must release water into the canal in Nepal twice a year: from May to September for paddy plantation and from January to March for wheat plantation.

The Indian government built the 81-kilometer Gandak Canal in 1975 to irrigate 37,400 hectares in the Bara, Parsa, and Rautahat districts. India releases water into the canal from the Gandak Barrage built on the Nepal-India border at Bhaisalotan. The canal enters Nepal from Janaki Tol in Jagarnathpur Rural Municipality of Parsa after covering a distance of 92 kilometers in India.

Two persons, who went missing in the landslide at Bagmati Rural Municipality-5, Sikredobhan in Makawanpur, were found dead on Wednesday.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Makwanpur, Tek Bahadur Karki said that the bodies of two persons among others who went missing in the flood and landslide occurred after incessant rain since Tuesday morning were found on the bank of Bagmati River at Hariharpurigadh Rural Municipality-1, Kokare.

The deceased have been identified as Akkal Bahadur Syangtan (60) and his daughter Sheela Pahari (22).

With this, the death toll has reached three.

Pasang Ghising (17) of Hariharpur Rural Municipality-1, Kokati, Sindhuli, however, was rescued alive on Tuesday evening.

He was rescued from the Bagmati river bank.

Ghising, who was found injured, is being treated at the Hetauda Hospital.

Three people, who were swept away by flood and landslide, are still missing.

Whereabouts of Akkal Bahadur's son-in-law Jeewan Pahari (25), his four-year-old grandson Milan Pahari and one-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter Divya Pahari are still unknown.

Search for the missing is underway with the help of the police and locals, DSP Karki said.

Akkal Bahadur's wife Santamaya (55) was found dead on Tuesday, police said.

Two inmates died under mysterious circumstances in the Sankhuwasabha District Prison on Wednesday.

The deceased have been identified as Binod Tolangi (19) of Modi Municipality and Akash Balami (28) of Kakani Rural Municipality-7, Nuwakot.

DSP Birendra Godar said that the duo were arrested and handed over to the prison administration after they tried to flee from the toilet at around 1 am today.

“Both of them were taken to the hospital after they were found in an unconscious state inside the prison this morning. They breathed their last during the course of treatment at 6 am,” he said.

The bodies have been kept at the morgue of the hospital.

Tolangi and Balami, who were serving the jail sentence in a rape and theft cases, had tried to escape from the prison.

Following the incident, a large number of security personnel were deployed in the premises of the district prison.

A meeting of the District Security Committee is being held at the District Administration Office to discuss the issue.

Chief District Officer Shiva Kumar Karki said that a committee will be formed to investigate the incident.

Property worth around Rs 30 million was reduced to ashes when a fire broke out at the MM Plastic Industry in Biratnagar Metropolitan City-14 on Wednesday.

The fire broke out at the plastic industry belonging to Suyash Pyakurel at around 9 am today, SP Deepak Pokharel of the District Police Office, Morang.

Pyakurel said the inferno that started due to short-circuit destroyed two UPS, 200 batteries, AC, inverter and cable wires among others.

The fire was extinguished with the help of two fire engines of Nepal Police and Biratnagar metropolis after two hours.

SP Pokharel said that they are looking into the incident.