ANANDA SHRESTHA

This isn't Darfur, it is a sandstorm hitting the desertified Kosi after the river was diverted to its previous channel.

For the 60,000 people displaced by the river after it breached its levee last August the past year has been a living hell. With the monsoons less than a month away, there is fear the Kosi will flood again.

The most vulnerable in the flimsy tented camps are the women and children. Babies born after the flood suffer eye infections from the blowing sand as well as other diseases. And now, there is the added danger of human traffickers who are preying on older children, selling them off as farmhands and restaurant workers in India.

The effect on Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve's endangered arna, fresh water dolphin and birdlife have been overlooked. Construction work to divert the river and human encroachment threaten the sanctuary.

The only silver lining is that according to last month's arna census, the number of wild buffalo is up from 159 five years ago to 219 today.

SEE ALSO
Stolen children - FROM ISSUE #452 (22 MAY 2009 - 28 MAY 2009)
Where the buffalos used to roam - FROM ISSUE #452 (22 MAY 2009 - 28 MAY 2009)
Flood of babies - FROM ISSUE #452 (22 MAY 2009 - 28 MAY 2009)