Sunsari, April 4 -- Mohammad Sultan, a 72-year-old man from ward 4 of the then West Kushaha Village Development Committee, currently ward 4 of Koshi Rural Municipality, in Sunsari district, vividly remembers the day on August 18, 2008, when his five bigha (3.39 hectare) of land was buried under sand after a devastating flooding in the Saptakoshi River.

"Most of my land is still under the sand, and some portions I managed to clear are not arable because they were covered in sand for a very long time. Despite its promise to help, the government has neither assisted in removing the sand nor provided any aid," said Sultan.

According to the Koshi Flood Victims Struggle Committee, around 6,800 bigha (4,605.4 hectares) of arable land has been ...