Displaced families of October floods and landslides in Mugu languish in flimsy tents
Resettlement is not in sight while survivors face a shortage of food at their makeshift homes. Displaced families at Bamnichaur in this recent photo. Last October’s floods and landslides killed eight people and displaced hundreds. Post Photo
Families displaced by the floods and landslides in October last year are still residing in temporary shelters in Mugu, a mountain district of Karnali Province. The victims spent the whole of this winter under flimsy tents, enduring biting cold.
Ram Bahadur Rawat, a resident of Khatyad Rural Municipality who lost his house in the disaster, said he expected the government would provide his family with relief and help them reconstruct the house. “But the government is indifferent to our predicament,” he said.
The disasters displaced 236 families in the district, damaged 188 houses while 399 other houses are at high risk, according to data from the district natural disaster management committee. Eight people were killed in landslides at Salim village of Chhayanath Rara Municipality.
A total of 141 displaced families of Jhyari village in Chhayanath Rara Municipality have been staying by pitching tents at Bamnichaur. “We are restless as summer is about to begin,” said Dal Singh Rawal, a displaced victim. “Where should we go in the rainy season? How long can we stay here under the tents by using the bedding of the dried up leaves of pine?” To make matters worse, the displaced families are facing a shortage of food in the temporary shelter, Rawal said.
The disasters damaged several houses in Jhyari and damaged crops.
“The displaced people managed two squares of meals with the relief materials provided by various organisations and the food grains that they had in store,” said Karna Rawal, the ward chief of Chhayanath Rara-8. “They are now under the acute shortage of food.”
Rawal said that the local unit supported the displaced families as much as they could. “But we don’t have the budget to help them reconstruct their houses and rehabilitate them,” he said.
The displaced people are pushed into further hardship after Rara National Park repeatedly pressured them to leave the place in Bamnichaur, which lies in the park area. The victims claim it is unfair to pressurise them to evacuate their temporary shelter before the government authorities manage their resettlement.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had assured the displaced people that they would be provided with proper rehabilitation and relief. The victims, however, complained that the government authorities have not taken any initiatives as of now for their resettlement.
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