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A tunnel breakthrough of the Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Multi-purpose Project has been achieved.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the tunnel breakthrough amidst a program at Kanadhungri, Sunkoshi Rural Municipality-7 today.

After the Prime Minister pressed on the TBM switch, the TBM machine that had entered the tunnel from Kusumtar of Kamalamai Municipality-2 for digging the tunnel exited from the tunnel from the other side at Kanadhungri on the bank of the Sunkoshi River.

The tunnel stretches from Kusumtar, Kamalamai Municipality-2 to Kanadhungri of Sunkoshi-7. It is 13.3 kilometres long.

Project Chief Mitra Baral said they have been successful to accomplish the breakthrough a year ahead of the target. The breakthrough of the tunnel has been achieved in 19 months of the start of digging of the tunnel.

According to Baral, the tunnel was dug up to 72 meters on a single day. The works of digging the tunnel had started on October 14, 2022. However, the work on digging up the tunnel was disrupted six times since then. The works were stalled as the TBM machine could not dig the tunnel further up due to the dry landslide and mudslide inside the tunnel.

The tunnel has a diameter of 5.5 meters and the quality segment has been used for building the tunnel with the help of high technology. A 30 meters high and 158 meters long dam would be constructed across the Sunkoshi River at Kanadhungri and the water from the dam channeled through the tunnel to Marinkhola stream at Kusumtar.

At Kusumtar, the water would be dropped through penstock pipe from a height of 66 meters to generate 31.07 megawatts of electricity.

The Chinese construction company, China Overseas Engineering has got the contract for the construction of the tunnel. This company has carried out tunnel construction work of the Bheri Babai Diversion Project before this.

Project Chief Baral informed that COVEC was awarded the contract worth Rs 10 billion 50 million and 680 thousand for digging the tunnel alone.

The Project aims to provide irrigation water and produce electricity for the five districts of the Madhes throughout the year.

Along with power generation, the main objective of the project is to provide irrigation facilities on 122 thousand hectares of land in Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari and Dhanusha districts of Terai by using the infrastructure of Bagmati irrigation project.

According to the project, the total cost of the project is Rs 49.42 billion.

Humla is currently in the grip of a long spell of drought. Due to the drought, the ready-to-harvest crops, including wheat in the fields of Bargaun, Thehe, Limatang, Torpa and other villages here have dried up.

Farmers of Simkot Rural Municipality-1, 2, 3 and 4 complained that the crops have been ruined due to drought.

In absence of alternative water arrangements, they are worried about cultivating another crop and eking out a livelihood for their families.

Gajima Lama, a resident of Simkot Rural Municipality-3, said famine might take place in absence of snow in the winter. 

There has been no snow this year, she said, adding that there may emerge a situation of starvation in the area.

Lama further voiced her complaint that she could not cultivate crops now due to lack of rain as it was already delayed to sow millet.

Gaugora Bohara, a farmer of Simkot Rural Municipality-2, Thehegaun said they could not cultivate chilies, corn, pumpkins and other vegetables in the wait for rain.

"Eight to 10 years ago, the fields were not dry like this, but the problem has arisen when there is no snow and rain in the winter season this year", he shared.

The World Red Cross Day is being observed by organizing several programs today with the slogan 'keeping humanity alive'.

The world celebrates World Red Cross Day, on May 8 every year to honor humanitarian works and principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. 

The day helps highlight the humanitarian values and activities of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

These associations play a crucial role in assisting and aiding people impacted by different natural disasters, armed conflicts, and different crises, everywhere.

It is the day when the legacy of Henry Dunant, the pioneering volunteer who founded the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement more than 160 years ago, is commemorated and respected.

Humanity has been weakening in the modern and tech-savvy world due to inter-country and inner wars, violence and discrimination. Likewise, frequent incidents of disaster, drought and famine due to the negative impacts of rising global temperature and climate change have also made the efforts for protecting humanity more pressing.

In this context, the theme of the year has been set to remind the people of the significance of compassion, love, affection, support, and treatment on this day.

In a message of best wishes on the occasion, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Jagan Chapagain has called for elevated level of humanitarian service with the challenges mounting on keeping humanity alive.

Respect for international humanitarian law not only preserves the humanity of people affected by crises, it preserves our own humanity – both today and in the future, the message reads.

As an inseparable part of the Red Cross movement, Nepal Red Cross Society was founded on 19 Bhadra 2020 BS The Nepal Red Cross now has 1,615 sub-branches, including province offices in all seven provinces and district branch offices in all 77 districts, and 6,934 junior and youth circles across the country.

The community-based organization has a robust member base of 930,000 members.

The Nepal Red Cross has been annually offering its humanitarian services to over 2.5 million people.

IFRC's country representative for Nepal Ajmat Ulla informed that humanitarian support will continue in Nepal.

At least 27 people have lost their lives to fire, forest fire and lightning in the last 24 days.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), the fatalities occurred between April 13 and May 6.

Some 18 people were killed in the fire, six in the forest fire and three in lightning strikes while 90 were injured in the incidents, the NDRRMA sources said.

Meanwhile, the Authority has also approved a procedure to provide financial assistance to the fire victims' families to build temporary houses. Earlier, such facilities were made available to the Gorkha earthquake victims.