India has pledged continued cooperation to Nepal in the area of water resources management. It has also committed to extend its assistance for river training and embankment construction on other major rivers in Nepal.

Such pledge from India comes in the wake of the 10th meeting of Nepal-India Joint Committee on Inundation and Flood Management (JCIFM) that took place between December 6 and 10. The meeting discussed the status of various ongoing and completed projects on river training and embankments in Nepal.

The Indian delegation led by Gorakh Thakur, member of Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC) from India, and the Nepali delegation led by Niranjan Dev Pandey, director general of the Department of Water Induced Disaster Prevention, had attended the meeting, the Indian Embassy said.

The delegates from the two countries also inspected the West Rapti River. They, however, could not visit Bagmati, Lalbakeya and Kamala rivers as expected. India has been assisting Nepal in embankment extension project at Lalbakeya, Bagmati, Kamla and Khando rivers.

So far, the Indian government has provided a grant of Rs 3.6 billion on various river management projects.