Bardiya, July 15 -- Five villages in Gulariya Municipality-10 in Bardiya district have been placed at high risk after rising water levels in the Babai river triggered fresh erosion on Tuesday.

As the river level receded, it began cutting into the banks, putting Ratnapur, Jhagarupur, Rangipur, Nayapur and Mahajadiya villages at increasing risk. Residents fear that a major flood could inundate the settlements and destroy farmland if immediate measures are not taken.

The erosion has intensified at a site where embankment construction near the Nepal-India border was halted following objections from the Indian side, according to the then Babai, Bhada and Aurahi River Management Office, Bardiya.

Farmer Dipak Chaudhary of Ratnapur said the la...