Farmers in Tallo Chipla village in Lamjung are in the thick of transplanting millet seedlings. Amidst the busy farm season, 73-year-old Ash Bahadur Gurung and his family are restless fearing a landslide looming above their home. They live in constant fear of being washed away, when it starts raining. Ash and his 71-year-old wife Mishri rush toward their house from the field in the early evening, quickly prepare a meal, and head to a tent in Dandagaun to spend the night. They return home at dawn.

“We only go home for meals. We prepare a meal as quickly as we can, gulp it and head back to the tent. We don’t linger at home” said Ash Bahadur.

Not only the Gurung couple, but all the villagers at Gairigaun in Tallo Chipla in ward 5 of Marsyangdi Rural Municipality have the same daily routine. The villagers are fearful as the land just above their settlement developed cracks and several landslides nearby have added to their anxiety.

According to 60-year-old Rashi Gurung, the land about 100 metres above the village developed cracks stretching over 20 metres following heavy rains on July 27. “We filled in the fissures, but new cracks keep appearing in the area. The villagers are terrified of the looming landslide,” said Rashi.

The locals of Gairigaun abandon their farmland when it starts raining. “We cannot sleep at home. We cannot even work in the paddy and millet fields when it rains. We have to rush to safety to protect ourselves,” said Rashi. According to him, villagers only return home when the weather is clear.

The children, senior citizens and sick people are the hardest hit. The villagers in Gairigaun have sent their children and elderly family members to stay with relatives in Dandagaun. Mangale Gurung, aged 90, has been staying at his nephew’s house in Dandagaun for the past 10 days.

“Children and elderly people who cannot walk have been staying at their relatives’ houses. Those who can work are busy in the fields during the day and sleep under tents at Dandagaun at night,” said Kamal Gurung, another local.

There are a total of 182 people of 42 families in Gairigaun of Tallo Chipla, which is at high risk of landslides.

The tents have been pitched in a cornfield at Dandagaun, where the displaced have been staying under flimsy tents during the monsoon season. They complain that they have difficulties staying there due to lack of electricity, drinking water and toilets.

Marsyangdi Rural Municipality distributed 25 tarpaulin tents while the district administration office and the district Red Cross provided 14 other tents for the displaced.

“Around 15-20 metres of land above Gairigaun village developed fissures. The villagers filled the fissures thinking that the rainwater seeping through the fissures caused the landslides. A landslide may still occur if it rains heavily,” said Ghanshyam Ghale, the chairman of ward 5 of the rural municipality.

According to Ghale, some displaced people are staying with relatives, some in local school buildings, and the rest under tents. “This is not a permanent solution to the problem. The authorities need to find an alternative immediately,” said Ghale.

The topography of the Gairigaun area in Tallo Chipla is fragile and steep. Chief District Office (CDO) Buddha Bahadur Gurung admits that the Gairigaun area is at risk of landslides. “The rural municipality will propose relocating the settlement, if the threat of landslide becomes imminent. The District Disaster Management Committee will act as per the proposal of the local unit,” said CDO Gurung. He expressed his commitment to finding a long-term solution.

The rural municipality has not yet reached a conclusion. “A team of geologists and other technicians will soon inspect the affected area. We will move forward based on their recommendation” said Arjun Gurung, chairman of Marsyangdi Rural Municipality.