KANCHANPUR – Bhimdatta municipality has carried out an initial environmental examination for the extraction of river products. The municipality’s efforts are in view of minimising environmental impacts, protecting human settlements and providing job opportunities to local people who are dependent on river products for livelihood, said the municipality mayor Surendra Bista.
“The municipality has moved ahead to manage the extraction of river products from rivers including the Mahakali river, he said. Local people are connected to river products through jobs. We have made the directives focusing on it,” he said.
The municipality is at work to carry out an environmental impact assessment, he said. “Extraction of river products from all rivers is not allowed. The extraction has been allowed from five places,” he said. A programme has been launched to help the local levels at the lower watershed area in the river regarding sustainable extraction of river products.
The programme known as Support to Local Government for Promotion of Sustainable Riverbed Mining Practices has been implemented in Bhimdatta municipality and Mahakali municipality in the lower watershed region of the Mahakali river. The programme has been implemented under the Paani Project, funded by the USAID.
BAFAR Nepal Kailali has begun the programme in the lower watershed area of the Karnali and Mahakali rivers in the Sudurpaschim province since five months.
