At a brief ceremony held today, 16th October 2008, at Singha Darbar, the Ambassador of India to Nepal Shri Rakesh Sood handed over a cheque for Indian Rs. 20 crore to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Nepal H.E. Shri Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ as Government of India’s relief assistance for Kosi flood victims in Nepal. This assistance had been announced during the visit of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Nepal to India from 14-18 September 2008. It represents Government of India’s commitment to work with the Government of Nepal to effectively address the common problems faced by both the countries due to perennial floods.
 
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Sood referred to the understanding reached between the two sides during the recent visit of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Nepal to India on relief and rehabilitation measures for the victims of Kosi flood and for the reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure, including the eroded embankment and segments of the East-West Highway. He recalled that in pursuance of the decision taken by the two Prime Ministers to set up a three tier mechanism for consultation and cooperation on water resources at Ministerial, Secretarial and experts’ level, the Joint Committee on Water Resources headed by the Water Resources Secretaries of the two countries met recently and has taken important decisions to prevent recurrence of such disaster and also to promote cooperation in water resources, including implementation of Pancheshwar and Naumure Projects.