LIGHTNING KILLS ONE, INJURES THREE IN SINDHULI Kathmandu, 27 May: One person died and three others were injured by lighting occurred at Kapilkot VDC-2 in Sindhuli on Monday morning, RSS reports.. The deceased has been identified as Babu Ram Thing, 12, a seventh grader at a local school. He died on the spot after the lightning struck him, said Shiva Asthami Magar, teacher at the school. Those injured in the incident are Sansar Thing, Bikram Thing and Buddhiman Thing of the village. Nnnn INDIA HALTS REPAIR OF GANDAK DAM AS MONSOON APPROACHES Kathmandu, 27 May: Repair works of three spurs at the Gandak dam have been put on hold after the rise in water level triggered by heavy rainfall in the past few days,Bachu Gaud writes in The Kathmandu Post from Parasi. . An Indian company contracted to repair the spurs 11, 12 and 13 at Gap B of the dam had to discontinue repair works just two weeks after the project started. People residing close to the project area fear the dam could burst any time and flood their homes if the fortification works are not accomplished before the monsoon. Local people from Narsahi and Pakalihawa have requested the government to make arrangement for their rehabilitation before the disaster strikes their homes. “The Indian side delayed the project and now the disaster is inevitable. We are losing our sleep because we don’t know when the dam is going to collapse flooding our villages,” said Gopal Gurung, a resident of Narsahi village. The Gandak river has already eroded a large section of spur 12 and the water is flowing ominously close to the settlements. As many as 13 VDCs are at risk of flood. Villagers, however, hold the Nepali authorities equally responsible for the situation. They said the Nepali authority failed to press the Uttar Pradesh government of India, which is responsible for undertaking all repair and maintenance works concerning the Gandak dam. “We made several requests to the local administration and the irrigation office to take the issue before the Indian side but they did not take our appeal seriously,” said Premchand Gupta of the Gandak Struggle Committee. After inspecting the dam, Chief District Officer Keshavraj Ghimire pledged to convene an emergency meeting of the District Disaster Management Committee and request the concerned senior authorities to initiate necessary measures to protect the villagers. Flood caused by heavy rainfall swept away a recently-constructed powerhouse at Chhangekhola in Khartamchha VDC of Bhojpur district on Saturday night. The 35 KW power generator was washed away in the flood cutting electricity supply for 634 households. The powerhouse had come into operation just a month ago. It was constructed with the investment of 12 million rupees from different donors, local administration and villagers. nnnn