Darchula, Dec. 14 -- Although the Mahakali River Control Project has imposed a ban on the excavation of riverbed materials from Mahakali river and its banks, sand, stone and other river products are being extracted in a haphazard manner in Khalanga, the district headquarters of Darchula.

Because of the mining, the newly made permanent embankment in Khalanga is at risk of erosion and flooding. Rana Bahadur Bam, chief at the project, said that there's a risk of internal erosion due to the haphazard excavation of sand and pebbles from the foundation area of the embankment. "We had issued a public notice not to extract riverbed materials from the embankment area, but the locals and outsiders who are involved in the extraction have not paid a...