By Amrit Prasad Poudel
Myagdi, July 26: The recent landslides triggered by incessant rains have swept away many settlements and rural roads of Myagdi district.
Within last two weeks, the district of western Nepal was the worst affected with 27 reported deaths.
Many have been displaced as landslides swept away their homes while many have ended up taking refuge in local schools and public buildings.
A recent landslide in Annapurna Gaunpalika-2 took the life of 32-year-old man who was returning home from a quarantine facility.
Jhalak Pun, a local of Dana Kavre of Annapurna Gaunpalika-3, was returning home from quarantine after his Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test result for COVID-19 came out negative.
He died in the landslide of Bhurungtatopani while he was on his way home from Beni. The man had returned home from foreign employment only recently.
According to the locals, the road section connecting Beni to northern Myagdi was already in a dilapidated condition. The continuous rainfall trigged the heavy landslide that dumped the debris on the road and killed Pun.
Pun, who won the battle against the COVID-19, lost his life to the natural calamity. But another man, who was returning home together with Pun, luckily survived.
The recent landslides have severely damaged the Myagdi-Mustang, 76km Beni-Jomsom road section and rural roads connecting the northern Myagdi, making it impossible for vehicles to ply for last two weeks.
The rural roads, which were already in a dilapidated condition, are further hit hard by the monsoon rains, locals lament.
Similarly, the bridge located at Galeshwor of Myagdi-Jomsom road section was swept away by the monsoon floods. The multiple landslides have claimed road sections in Rahuparey, Tiplyang, Begkhola, Bhurungtatopani, Dana, Kavre Bhir, Ghoptebhir and Ghasa and Letey of Mustang.
The swollen Kaligandaki River has eroded the road section of Bhurungtatopani. Many walking trails of this region were also swept away by the landslide, making it hard for the locals in commuting.
The locals of Myagdi Bhek and northern Maygdi have no choice but to commute along steep cliff risking their lives.
For them travelling along this road is like a battle with death as there are high chances of slipping off the cliff, said Indra Singh Sherchan, tourism entrepreneur of Dana of Annapurna Gaunpalika-2.
The villagers of this region are forced to travel along the steep trail without any support, he added.
According to Sherchan, the Kaligandaki River has swept away the whole base of the road section in Ghoptebhir and Kavre and walking trails are also completely damaged.
“We have to take support of branches of plants and vines while ascending and descending the cliff. Anyone can fall from this trail and there are also chances of getting hit by falling rocks,” said Prem Prasad Tulachan, a member of House of Representative from Mustang.
“We have to put our lives on a razor’s edge while travelling along this trail,” he added.
He said most of the rural roads of the district were swept away during the monsoon. The landslides and floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains ravaged both the motor road and walking trails, making it hard for the locals to commute.
Tulachan further added that since majority of the regions have narrow roads, the continuous rainfall had washed away many of these road sections.
“Even the pregnant women and lactating mothers and people with illnesses have to pass by this dangerous trail to reach hospital for treatment,” he added.
Following the death of Pun, the police have now restricted people to commute from roads which are prone to landslide.
Chief of the District Police Office (DPO), Myagdi Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kiran Jung Kunwar said if the police wouldn’t restrict public movement in the disaster-prone roads, then there could be more casualties.
He said the DPO had already directed the police stations of northern region to restrict people’s movement in those road sections.
Last week, a portion of Danabhir road section in Annapurna Gaunpalika-3 fell off, resulting in the death of a tipper driver. The tipper was carrying construction materials, said Kunwar.
On the next day, the body of the driver was found three kilometers below the road section, he said, adding that the tipper was still missing.
The incessant rains, steep landscape, underground water and fragile structure of land are the reasons why the hilly regions are prone to landslides, he added. Chandra Mohan Gauchan, member of the State Assembly from Mustang, said for the last two weeks, vehicles had not passed through Beni-Jomsom road section.
“There has been incessant rainfall for the last two weeks. There is still risk of landslides due to which we are unable to repair the road, said Gauchan. Landslides have been noticed in dozens of places in Myagdi and Mustang and the sorry condition of the only road that links Mustang to Myagdi and rest of the country has hampered transportation to the district, he added.
“Because of this, the farmers are forced to supply their vegetables and milk products with the help of rope,” he said.