Floodwater breaks into Sauraha's hotels and pubs

Chitwan - The flood waters from the swollen Rapti and Budhi Rapti rivers have entered most of the hotels in this tourist hotspot of Sauraha forcing the evacuation of tourists and guests to upper floors.

Regional Hotel Association, Sauraha's Chairman, Suman Ghimire, said the pubs, restaurants and hotels lining the Rapti's riverbanks were inundated from Saturday evening after flood waters burst through the dams under torrential downpour. The water from the swollen river has flooded the first floors of most of the hotels here.

Majority of the 110 hotels in Sauraha have partially submerged as the hotel staffers relocate the tourists to higher floors for safety. The parked vehicles, motorbikes and cycles have also submerged.

Ghimire says the flooding is the biggest since 2002. The hotel entrepreneurs here are faced with the prospect of tremendous economic losses.

The police post near the Chitrasari bridge on the way to Sauraha has been relocated, according to District Police Office, Chitwan's Superintendent of Police (SP) Deepak Thapa.

The flood waters from Rapti, Kayar, Ladari and Pampha rivers have also inundated the villages in Khairhani, Parsa, Bhandara and Ratnanagar areas in eastern Chitwan.

The Rapti river has also entered Patihani, Jagatapur and Meghauli in western Chitwan flooding the areas near the bank. The local authorities have relocated the settlement along the riverbank to safety.

The flooding in the Narayani, Rapti and Riul among other rivers has sparked an appeal from the local administration for caution.