Name: Bhuwan Prasad Shah, Id: 17BTAG139, B.

Tech Ag, Sem: V

Course: Drainage Engineering (SWLE-505)

Drainage issue in the terai region of Nepal

Nepal is divided into three geographical regions, namely: Himalayas, Hills and Terai.
The terai region of Nepal is located to the South of the country. The land of terai region
of Nepal is very fertile and is popularly known as the grain house with the majority of the
country's industries. Hence the majority of the population residing in this region relies
upon agriculture for their livelihood. Agriculture is the basis of the economy. Major crops
include rice, wheat, maize, potato, peas, lentil, mustard, sugar cane, ginger, turmeric,
cardamom, garlic and chili. Fruits comprise mango, lychee, guava, papaya, banana and
jackfruit. The Terai is also known for beekeeping and honey production, with about
120,000 colonies of Apis cerana. There is abundance of water in this region because of
the descending fast flowing rivers, which makes the process of irrigation simpler and
convenient through irrigation canals. Irrigation is done by ground water in the regions
which lag the connectivity with canals.

The elevation of the terai ranges from 65m to 300m from mean sea level with varying
width of 20 km to 45 km. The climate of the Terai is subtropical with average
temperature of 25°C. The rainfall of the Terai varies from 1,200 mm to 3,000 mm per
annum with occasional showers and cloudbursts. The soil is alluvial and fine to medium
textured and is generally hard. The terai region is covered with evergreen tropical forests.
Generally tall and timber producing trees like Sal, Sisoo, Siaml, Khayar, Asna, Karma,
etc are found. Besides these tall trees, tall grasses like Saccharum and Typha are also
found in this region and there are large pastoral lands which are used for grazing.

All the rivers of Nepal debouch into the Terai plain at the foot hills of the Churia and
Siwalik ranges and provide water for irrigation and livelihood of the Terai. Water logging
is not predominant in places of Nepal but during the monsoon months from June to
September, all these rivers are in spate with bank-full discharges and cause flooding and
inundation in several parts of the Terai for several days destroying crops and hence
hampering the productivity. The problems of flooding and inundation in the Terai are
more critical due to change in climate and change in the rainfall pattern/intensity. The
soil has high water holding capacity and hence does not allow water to drain easily.

The largest four rivers of Nepal, i.e. the Koshi, the Gandaki, the Karnali and the Mahakali
originate from the high Himalayas and carry large discharges. These rivers are incised in
the hills and mountains and are comparatively less vulnerable until they debouch into the
Terai plain. The average discharge of the Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali range between
1,350 m3/s to 1,600 m3/s while the average discharge of the Mahakali River is 726 m3/s.
In the Terai these rivers often cause flooding and inundation over large stretches of land
adjoining their banks. The medium rivers that originate from the Mahabharat hills
experience monsoon discharge of 2,000 m3/s to 8,000 m3/s and create havoc of flooding
and inundation in the Terai. These rivers are numerous and transport significant amounts
of sediment while flowing through the Churia range and exhibit lateral shifting. This
flooding causes loss in habitat of a large number of people and huge economic loss.
There are no sufficient drainage canals to withdraw the excess water and hence the water
flows in uncontrolled way creating destruction.

High Peak Floods: Runoff in Churia Rivers concentrates only in the monsoon months
from June to September. Factors like short steep slope, overgrazing, deforestation, and
short time of concentration produce high peak flood during the monsoon. In general, the
runoff duration is less than one day and the flood hydrograph is very sharp with high
peak discharge. This high discharge of flood water inundates whole agricultural lands and
the nearby settlements are too affected, thus leading to mass relocation till the water dries
off.

Rainfall-Runoff Process in the Terai: Past experience shows that flooding and
inundation occur following high intensity rainfall in the Churia hills and Terai. A rainfall
intensity of 350 mm for consecutive 48 hours is considered as high intensity rainfall. In
addition, rainfall exceeding 70 mm per hours considered as cloudburst rainfall disrupts
both the slopes and channel equilibrium at the local as well as regional scales.

Barriers as Drainage Congestion in Terai: Drainage congestion is one of the reasons

causing flooding and inundation in the Terai. The waterway opening of the bridges and
culverts constructed in the Terai area may aggravate the drainage congestion. For
instance, all the rivers of Nepal drain to the Ganges basin crossing the Nepal- India
border in the Terai plain. The total length of the border with India is estimated as
1,808km, of which rivers act as the border between Nepal and India for about 595 km of
length. The infrastructures constructed just downstream of the border across the contour
have congested the drainage passage of the natural water bodies and have caused
inundation in upstream areas adjacent to the border. Lack of proper maintenance of
drainage flow paths under the cross-drainage structures of irrigation canals also
aggravates the flooding and inundation in the Nepal Terai.

Urban Settlements: Most of the urban settlements in the Terai are prone to inundation
after intense rainfall events due to improper drainage provisions. The inundation of
Nepalgunj in 2007 July is an example of drainage congestion owing to deficient urban
planning and management. The inundation lasted for a week in most of the city centers
including New Road, Gharbari Tole, and Surkhet Road. A maximum rainfall of 205 mm
was recorded in Nepalgunj on July 27, 2007 which caused flooding and inundation in
Nepalgunj. Similarly, Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, Narayanghat and Janakpur are also prone
to inundation time and again due to drainage congestion. In monsoon, due to lack of
proper drainage the roads gets flooded and water enters the houses of the people. For
instance, In July 07 2019, due to heavy continuous rain whole Kathmandu was flooded as
well as the highways were blocked due to flood and soil erosion. Also the sewage canal is
too small and not built scientifically and hence does not drain the excess water during
rainy seasons. The level of water in Koshi and and Kamala exceeded above the safety
limit and hence the terai and the neighboring places in Bihar, India were affected by this
deluge. This has also leaded to casualties and death.

Wide and Braided Channels: Most rivers in the Terai are braided at the Bhabar zone
and prone to change their course frequently. In many cases, these rivers find a new path
and enter into the cultivated lands leaving the old course. This is also evident in some
medium sized rivers. For example, the bifurcation of the Tinau River into the Tinau and
Dano rivers just downstream of the East-West Highway Bridge after 1978 flood is a
typical example of the Terai river characteristics.

Excessive Sediment Load: The Churia range contributes maximum sediment load to the
rivers originating from the southern face. According to a JICA (Japan International
Cooperation Agency) study, the annual sediment yield of the Lakhandehi River is
estimated as high as 178,000 m3 per year. In some stretches of the Churia Rivers, almost
two meters of sediment has been deposited in the last 45 years. Due to the higher
sediment load, the bed levels of several rivers are rising significantly.
Narrow Width at Nepal-India Border: Most of the Churia Rivers have relatively
narrow width at the Nepal-India border. During heavy rainfall these rivers spill over the
banks and flooding and inundation occur for some time depending on the topography,
slope of the river and the waterway. A typical example of a narrowing river width is the
Rato River in Mahottari District. The Rato and Jangha rivers in Mahottari District lie 6
km apart at the East-West Highway. The span of the Highway Bridge at the Rato River is
204m. After joining the Jangha and Ankushi rivers, the span of the bridge over the Rato
River at the Bardibas Jaleshwor road narrows down to about 100m. Further downstream
near the Nepal-India border at the Jaleshwor-Bhirttamod road, the span of the bridge is
narrowed again to only 30m.

Topographical Depressions: Some of the Churia Rivers form topographical depressions

such as marshy lands, swampy lands and oxbow lakes in the lower reaches of the Terai.
These depressions have formed due to excessive meandering, abandoning of the old
course, and avulsion of the rivers or their part. The Sunsari River at Maria Dhar, old
course of the Kankai River is some of such examples. The medium sized river Babai in
Bardiya District had also changed its course and formed topographical depressions in the
west of Gularia some 80 years ago. These areas are uncultivable and not appropriate for
settlement too.

Inadequate Drainage Passage in Road and Embankment Construction:

Development activities, mainly construction of physical infrastructure, are the major
barriers to the passage of flood water. Roads in urban areas have less drainage passage
way to allow the escape of incoming sheet flow. In addition, due to lack of sufficient
information on hydrology, several bridges and culverts are constructed with constricted
waterways. It is necessary to provide adequate drainage passage to safely allow the the
flood flows to pass.

Thus, Drainage of this excess water is problematic in Terai Region of Nepal.

Remedies

People of the Terai area have been compelled to live with floods and inundation since
time immemorial. This trend of flooding has led to serious problem to all the farmers as
all their crops are destroyed as well as the shelters and the routes. Due to urbanization,
major portion of land is impermeable so the water does not find way in order to enter the
soil which causes surface runoff and flooding. So, ground water recharging could be a
possible way to reduce this problem to some extent. Proper land use based on
topographic and agronomic considerations is key to a planned development approach.
The settlement area should be at a higher elevation than the cultivation area. Due to
absence of land use regulations, several houses are constructed in the most fertile lands of
the Terai. Hence, proper land use regulation and its enforcement are essential to reduce
the vulnerability to flooding and inundation in the Nepal Terai. Additionally one can
adopt rain water harvesting which will aid to solve the problem of both water scarcity and
drainage. The forests are too depleting as the lands are used for agriculture and housing.
The farmers there over irrigate the field and the excess water is not drained out. They
lack knowledge on the Crop water requirement. The fields lack drainage channels as it is
expensive process and not all are aware of the process which leads to leaching and thus
decrease in productivity. The irrigation water used is poor with salts which when supplied
to the field, creates a salt layer in root zone and thus the plant growth is affected.
Drainage of this excess water is essential for the good production and economic growth.
So, they can be made aware of the irrigation methods and techniques in order to irrigate
the field in right quantity and time. The increasing trend of river bed mining and its un-
planned management is one of the most notorious activities responsible for flooding and
inundation. So, management of river bed mining in a planned, judicious and limited
manner so as to sustain the environment and reduce the vulnerability to flooding and
inundation is required.

Conclusion

The Terai is the bread basket of the country which needs to be well safeguarded from
flooding and inundation impacts. Several development initiatives need to be coordinated
properly so as to provide adequate waterways for the floods. An integrated water
resources management approach is the key tool to address the flood and inundation
problems. Apart from watershed management in the Churia hills, land use regulations
need to be promulgated and enforced to dovetail with integrated water resources
management interventions.