Every monsoon, Joyey Khola, a small stream turns into a force of destruction. For residents of Manglabari in India, the stream has long brought fear, flooding homes and damaging properties. To mitigate recurring floods affecting settlements in Manglabari, the Phuentshogling Dungkhag constructed river protection walls along the stream, which flows down from Bhutan.
Last summer, the swollen Joyey Khola flooded settlements in Manglabari near Pekarzhing in Pasakha.
Residents say the stream, which remains dry during winter, can swell suddenly during the rainy season.
Without protection walls near the border, the river overflows during monsoon, flooding homes and putting lives at risk.
Residents of Manglabari said even though protection walls existed on their side, absence of similar measures upstream left them vulnerable.
Phuentshogling Dungpa Karma Jurmi said, “During winter, there is no trace of a river. But during summer, the stream swells and brings down mud and stones. The river bed rises, and then it floods the houses. We have received many complaints saying that our rivers are flooding their homes. So, we had to come up with river protection walls.”
Subit Lama, a resident of Manglabari said, “We raised the issue with our government many times and constructed walls as well. However, lack of such protection from the other side of the border was an issue. However, Bhutanese officials have been notified of the issue, and they have now constructed protection walls. People here are really happy and grateful to the Bhutanese government.”
Likewise, Kopila Rai said, “During monsoon, the river swells and enters our homes. It was challenging for us to evacuate to safer grounds because we have children and elderly living with us. We are glad that the Bhutanese government constructed the walls to protect us from flooding”
Another resident, Nar Bdr Subba said, “It was very challenging during monsoon. Last year, I think our homes got flooded around three times. We had to evacuate. Now, the Bhutanese government has constructed the walls. We are very thankful. We hope our homes will not get flooded anymore.”
The walls were constructed at a cost of more than Nu 3 M.
Kinley Dem
