Expert Panel Formed to Probe Scientific Causes of Bhotekoshi Flood

Kathmandu: The government has formed a seven-member expert committee to conduct a scientific investigation into the causes and sequence of the devastating flood in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa.

The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI) on Wednesday formed the committee under the coordination of water policy and governance expert Devesh Belbase. Hydrologist Narendra Man Shakya, glaciologist Rijan Bhakta Kayastha, remote sensing expert Uttam Babu Shrestha, geologist Meghraj Dhital, hydropower infrastructure specialist Hari Pandit and disaster risk reduction expert Anil Pokharel are among the members.

MoEWRI Spokesperson Mohan Kumar Shakya informed that the committee will conduct field studies from the suspected origin of the flood through the downstream river corridor. The investigation will examine the actual causes of the disaster, mountain and geological risks, the sequence of events, and the possible role of climate change.

The decision follows a proposal from the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, which has recommended studying the Rasuwa Bhotekoshi flood and the subsequent flooding in the Trishuli River not simply as a conventional flood, but as a potential “chain disaster” triggered by a combination of geographical, glacial, hydrological and other hazards originating in the high Himalayan region.

The Hydrology and Water Resources Research Center under the Secretariat had earlier conducted a preliminary assessment. However, the study found insufficient scientific evidence to conclusively determine where the disaster originated, what physical process triggered it, and how the event propagated downstream through the Bhotekoshi–Lhende river system.

The center therefore recommended a comprehensive scientific investigation of the entire sequence of events before attributing the disaster to climate change.

The new study will examine geological conditions, temperature, water dynamics and other relevant factors to establish the mechanisms behind the flood.

Shakya said the MoEWRI initiated the investigation because similar disasters in other river systems could pose significant risks to energy infrastructure. The Bhotekoshi flood, for instance, caused extensive damage to energy infrastructure along the Trishuli Corridor.