As many as 137 families of two remote villages in Bajura, a hill district of Sudurpaschim Province, have been displaced after the landmass below the settlements caved in.

The provincial government had constructed the Kawadi-Ruginbichchhan road section that passes through Ward No. 5 last December. Around the same time, a road was constructed through Ward No. 4 to connect Dhulachaur to Bortna. The rural roads snake through the foot of the hillock where the settlements lie, which might have caused the landslides, officials say.

“The land below the villages caved in as the lower part of the hillock was dug out while constructing the roads,” said Birkha Pandey, coordinator of the employment programme of the local unit. He visited the affected areas a few days ago.

According to Pandey, riverbank erosion of the Khahare stream, which separates the two villages, might have also contributed to the disaster.

Ninety-seven households of Kyudi village in Himali Rural Municipality Ward No. 5 and 40 households of Phaiti in Ward No. 4 have been displaced due to the landslide.

For about more than two weeks now, the displaced families have been taking shelter in a nearby forest, around an hour’s walk from the villages. Some have pitched tents and built makeshift huts while others have found shelter under trees and in caves. Relief materials are yet to reach them.

“Many villagers have fallen ill because of the cold in the forest. There is an acute shortage of food grains and drinking water here,” said Bir Bahadur Budha, a displaced person who is also an elected member of Ward No 5. “We had to leave the settlements and seek refuge in the forest since landslides continued to occur below and above the villages.”

According to the displaced families, they have been collecting wild fruits, roots and shoots in the forest to eat since they have run out of food grains.

“We have been drinking water from the local stream. These are uncertain times for us. We don’t know if we will ever be able to return to the village if the landslides continue,” said Gyani Budha of Kyudi, whose house was destroyed by a landslide two weeks back.

Among the displaced, the most affected are the elderly, children and women. Mansari Budha, a local woman from Kyudi who is living in the forest with the rest of the displaced people, said, “We don’t have any food grains. The children are hungry. Women are facing more problems here because there are no toilets and bathrooms for us to use in private.”

According to her, out of the total 600 displaced people, around 350 are women and children.

Since the villages are difficult to reach, the local authorities have been unable to initiate relief or rescue works.

“We have been trying to reach the area where the villagers have taken shelter but the weather has been impeding our efforts,” said Raj Bahadur Bhandari, acting chief administrative officer of the rural municipality.

According to Bhandari, the rural municipal office has also requested the Ministry of Home Affairs through the District Administration Office in Bajura to take initiatives to control the landslides.

“Landslides have occurred because of haphazard construction of roads. Flood-related disasters had also affected the villages last year,” said Govinda Malla, chairman of the rural municipality.

According to him, the opening of a road through the lower part of the villages was a mistake.

“The rural municipality was not informed about the road project in Ward No. 5 by the provincial authorities,” he said. “We don’t know how the survey and other technical fieldworks related to road construction were conducted here.”

“In Ward No. 4, the damage is mostly due to soil erosion on the riverbanks of Khahare stream. We are looking into moving the two villages to safer locations permanently,” Malla told the Post.

A team of district-based government officials, including security personnel from Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, inspected the landslide-affected area on Sunday.

Chief District Officer in Bajura Gopal Kumar Adhikari said thirty quintals of rice and several tents have been provided to the rural municipality to be distributed as relief to the affected families.

“The District Administration Office will work in coordination with the rural municipality for relief and rescue efforts,” Adhikari said.

The rural municipality is scheduled to distribute immediate reliefs like food items and tents on Tuesday. “The relief materials have been taken to the affected villages. The victims will be provided rice, other food materials and tents on Tuesday,” said Malla.