The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) said on Tuesday that the devastating flood caused by the Saptakoshi River breaching its embankment damaged crops worth Rs 300 million in Sunsari district. A week-long field assessment conducted by an M0AC team shows that paddy cultivation suffered the biggest loss of Rs 180 million in the district, which is one of the leading paddy producers in the country. The total area under paddy cultivation in Sunsari has been recorded at 50,920 hectares this year. The report also stated that Rs 45 million worth of jute -- a major cash crop -- was lost to the flood. The flood likewise destroyed vegetable cultivation and fisheries to the extent of Rs 25 million each. Damage to the banana and sugarcane crops stood at Rs 7.5 million. The ministry said that of the seven flood-affected village development committees in the district, Shreepur, Haripur, Laukahi and Pashchim Kushaha were the hardest hit. Farmers lost 90 hectares of jute cultivation and 140 hectares of fisheries due to the inundation which also destroyed 60 hectares of sugarcane and banana. "The total affected area in the district has been recorded at 5,300 hectares," stated the report. The flood destroyed 4,900 hectares of paddy and 185 hectares of vegetable cultivation in 30 wards of the most affected VDCs. Dr. Hari Dahal, spokesperson at MoAC, said the ministry would come up with a special package program for the affected areas as per the demand of the farmers once the water level fully subsides. "We will extend technical assistance and inputs to the farmers according to their demands," said Dahal. Dahal added that around 30,080 head of cattle had been affected, and 391 of them perished due to flooding and disease. "We have set up more than a dozen treatment camps in Laukahi and Madhuwan of Sunsari district and in Bhardaha, Saptari district for treating sick domestic animals," Dahal told the Post. "More than 2,000 animals have been administered HS and BQ vaccines as of Tuesday to prevent further spread of disease in the affected areas," Dahal also added. The ministry's report also revealed that Dhading, Kabhre, Dadeldhura, Udaypur, Kalikot, Rukum, Jajarkot, Bajura, Khotang, Myagdi, Baglung, Parbat, Dailekh, Sankhuwasabha and Okhaldhunga also witnessed different types of natural calamity in the past few months such as drought, landslides, floods and hailstorms that have resulted in losses worth millions of rupees. Technicians begin repairs Following security assurance by local authorities, a team of Indian technicians has begun repair works at the Saptakoshi river here at Haripur-9 of Saptari district. The team, in coordination with Nepali contractors, will take measures to stop further erosion of the Saptakoshi embankment. The initiative was taken following directives from the Bihar state government of India. Local contractors of Rajbiraj-- Arun Kumar Pradhan and Ajay Shrestha-- have been assigned the work of controlling the erosion. They will work as per the directives of the Indian team. Following the breach of the western Kushaha embankment in neighboring Sunsari district a week ago, the river waters changed course and began eroding the Bhantabari embankment at Haripur--thereby posing a serious threat to over 15,000 displaced people sheltering here following the disaster. Locals said the river would have flooded the embankment in two days if the authorities had failed to begin work to control the erosion. Contd from Pg 1 Ganesh Lal Sah, chief engineer on the Indian team, said the security assurances from local authorities made it possible for his team to begin the work. "After the chiefs of the local administration in Saptari pledged security Monday evening, we began our work from today," he said. He said the repair work will be very problematic as many displaced locals have been sheltering on the embankment. From Tuesday, the team began "crating" in plastic sacks inside bamboo piles. "If everything goes well, we can stop the erosion within a week," he said. Sah also said they were preparing to carry out maintenance work simultaneously at the damaged western Kushaha embankment. "However, we will wait for the water flow to recede before beginning the work," he said. Chief District Officer Jiwachha Mishra said his office will provide ample security to the team. A meeting of security chiefs of both sides on Monday evening took a decision to this effect. Meanwhile, a high-level government team inspected the damaged western Kushaha embankment in Sunsari on Tuesday. The team members were Vice-chairman of National Planning Commission Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources Shankar Koirala, and chief of Irrigation Department Madhusudan Poudel, among others. Over 50,000 locals of four VDCs in Sunsari district were displaced after their settlements were flooded by the Saptakoshi following damage to the western Kushaha embankment a week ago. Saptakoshi eroding another embankment DHARAN - The day technicians began repair work to stop further embankment erosion in Saptari, the swollen Saptakoshi River started damaging "13-RD embankment" at Pultegauda of Barahachhetra-2, Sunsari district Tuesday. According to locals, the river current has already begun sweeping away rocks after breaking the spurs. Shankar Dahal, a local, said many areas including Jabdi, Madhuvan, Mahendranagar, Prakas-hpur, Chakraghatti and Inaruwa will become waterlogged if the river damages the embankment and changes course.