National
Winter takes its toll on earthquake survivors
Continuous snowfall over the past one week has made life hard for the survivors of 2015 earthquake in Laprak village of Gorkha district.Hariram Upreti
Continuous snowfall over the past one week has made life hard for the survivors of 2015 earthquake in Laprak village of Gorkha district. More than three years have passed since the disaster, and over 500 quake displaced families are still living in shabby shelters fashioned out of corrugated zinc sheets and tarpaulins. “The melting snow on our roofs is causing water to seep inside our huts,” said Tejmaya Gurung.
This year’s winter has been particularly harsh for the earthquake survivors as the region witnessed a record snowfall in 12 years, dumping snow as high as two feet that has buried water pipeline and hindered mobility. “We are boiling snow for water because the pipeline is frozen and buried in snow,” said Unmaya Gurung. Snowfall has also affected the construction work of a settlement that is being built for the earthquake-displaced families at Gupsipakha.
The project, funded by the Non-Resident Nepali Association, is due to be completed in April of this year after the contractor failed to deliver on its previous deadline of October 2018.
(Photos by: Hariram Uprety)