Mustang. Initial monitoring of the damage caused by the unimaginable floods in Upper Mustang has begun.
Lomanthang Rural Municipality Chairman Tasinarbu Gurung, Vice Chairman Chyumi Bista, Chief Administrative Officer Bikash KC, the technical team of the rural municipality, ward chairmen and members of all five wards, and security representatives of the Nepal Police and Armed Police Force jointly conducted a monitoring on Wednesday to ascertain the damage caused by the floods.
The flood damaged a total of seven bridges on the branch roads of the rural municipality, including three concrete bridges, according to the Chief Administrative Officer of the rural municipality, KC. He said that the damage is estimated to be over Rs 1.5 crore.
According to the Chief Administrative Officer, KC, the flood of the Chuama River in Lomanthang-4 Chumjung on Tuesday evening completely damaged three concrete motorable bridges, one steel bridge, and three wooden bridges, including the concrete bridge connecting Arka and Bharsa. Although the flood damaged road bridges, no human or livestock were injured.
Chairman Gurung said that the concrete bridge and temporary bridge connecting the Ring Road and other branch roads within Lomanthang Rural Municipality were damaged. He said that the traffic on the Ring Road was disrupted after the flood damaged the bridges.
It is suspected that the unimaginable flood in the Chuama River near Chumjung village in Lomanthang-4 of Upper Mustang may have been caused by the bursting of a glacier. Lomanthang Rural Municipality Chairman Gurung said that there was no rain in the area at the time of the flood in the mountainous district of Mustang, which is known for its lack of rain.
“We inquired from the locals about the weather conditions at the place and the source lake when the flood occurred. They said that there was no rain in that area,” said Chairman Gurung. “The only reason for the sudden flood is the bursting of a glacier.”
Armed Police Inspector Bishnu Hari Thapa of the Armed Police Border Outpost (BOP) at Nechung in Choser, Lomanthang-2, informed that the team that went to find out the cause of the flood has returned from Chumjung.
He said that the Yarsa collectors told him that there are glacier lakes in the lake that is the source of the Chuama River in Chumjung. “We suspect that the main reason for the flood here is the bursting of a glacier. We have not received any information that there was rain in the source lake when the flood occurred,” he said.
Lopsang Chomphel Bista, Chairman of Loghekar Damodarkunda Rural Municipality here, informed that there are dozens of glacier lakes at the source of the branch rivers of Upper Mustang. He mentioned that as the temperature of the ground is increasing due to climate change, there is a possibility that snowdrifts from high-altitude mountains will fall and cause damage to snowfall. (RSS)