Aaite Rawat grew millet, soybean and horse gram during the summer months on his farmland in Padnapani in ward 4 of Khaptad Chhededaha Rural Municipality in Bajura. He produced three to four quintals of wheat in winter. He also had an animal shed there.

Rawat had enough land for subsistence farming.

“I could grow legumes on around three ropani [0.38 acre] of land. It would be more than enough for my family,” said 65-year-old Rawat. “The food I grew was also sufficient for me.”

But around four to five years ago, Rawat lost his farmland to a growing landslide that started some 10 years ago.

“The landslide gradually swept away my fields and shed,” he said. “It is now expanding towards our settlement. The landslide is already around 2 sq km wide.”

Around 120 families owned land in the Padnapani area. Most of them have already lost their farmlands.

Around three years ago, the landslide spreading in Padnapani and Paripatal swept away the intake of a drinking water project leaving as many as 15 households in Bhugadi village without clean drinking water.

“Around 75 percent of the villages and 25 percent of the community forest area were engulfed by the landslide. The landslide swept away the locals’ farmlands, water source, forest and foot trails. The landslide is spreading every year and it will soon devour the entire settlement if not controlled,” said Dal Bahadur Dhami, chairman of ward 4 of Khaptad Chhededaha.

Controlling the landslide is a massive undertaking, says Dhami, and the local unit’s resources alone would not be enough to stop the landslide.

Khaptad Chhededaha Lake, a major tourist attraction in Sudurpaschim Province, is also at high risk from landslides. Tourism entrepreneurs who invested in hotels and lodges in the area are worried about their business as the landslide has almost reached the lake.

“The landslide is just 30 metres from the lake and it is continuously moving towards the lake. We built hotels and lodges here to cater to the tourists who would come here to enjoy the lake,” said Sunkeshari Rawat, a businesswoman. She spent Rs1.5 million to open a hotel and lodge three years ago. “Without the lake, there will be no tourists and we will not see any return on our investments.”

Chhededaha Lake, which is located on the side of the Mardadi-Thamlekh road stretch straddles wards 4 and 7 of Khaptad Chhededaha Rural Municipality.

The local residents complain that the government is indifferent towards controlling the landslide despite their repeated requests. “The government officials, people’s representatives and people of various organisations frequently visit the area. Even the members of the federal parliament inspected the landslide. But nobody has taken initiatives to control the landslide so far,” said Bimal Rawat, a local. According to him, government officials and the people’s representatives often postpone the issue citing budget issues.

The chief minister of Sudurpaschim Province, provincial minister of internal affairs, and secretary of the forest ministry among other high-level government officials have inspected the landslide-affected area in recent years. “I continuously request the federal and provincial government to help us control the landslide. They visit the area and provide assurances to help in controlling the landslide. But we are yet to receive any support,” said Dil Bahadur Rawat, chairman of Khaptad Chhededaha Rural Municipality. According to him, other places in the rural municipality including Gumlagaun, Guiban, Paratola, Sera, Naina and Tallo Lisana areas are also prone to landslides.

The rural municipality, according to the rural municipality chief, does not have the budget to control the landslide but it is planning to plant some 20,000 samplings in the landslide-prone area in the current fiscal year.