By Chitra Mijar
Sindhupalchowk, July 13: Napche Magar of Bhotekoshi Gaunpalika-5 slept like a baby Thursday night. Having worked hard in the field all day, the 57-year-old lay in bed and immediately found sleep, only to wake up at 7 AM on Friday.
The morning was as dark as the night because the clouds were blocking the sun. It was raining heavily and the surrounding hills looked like they could give way any moment. It seemed the incessant showers could invite a disaster but Magar didn’t think too much about it and instead, focused on his house work.
But then, Magar felt the ground beneath his feet shake. The shaking got more and more violent and when he looked up, he saw a huge wall of muddy water coming his way.
Fearing for his life, Magar left everything and immediately ran outside, trying to get away from the flood rapidly approaching him. In front of him, many other people were also fleeing their homes. They were lucky and managed to escape to safety. But he, unfortunately, got swept away.
There was no help and no escape. He screamed for help but no one heard him. The water kept taking him farther and farther.
“That’s when I realised that I would not survive,” he recounted the horrific day. “I could not fight the angry rapids and my head, limbs, and body kept bumping against rocks and debris.”
“I started remembering God and lost consciousness,” a tearful Magar explained. “When I woke up, I was about 500 metres below my house in a field near the bank of the mighty Bhotekoshi River. The lord saved me.”
Magar was swept away when Phungmache Thado Khola in Larcha broke its banks and flooded the surrounding areas. He was rescued after 10 hours.
Sarki Lama, ward member of Bhotekoshi Gaunpalika-3, who was involved in Magar’s rescue, said that the entire village was overjoyed to see him alive. Lama informed that Magar had sustained injuries in his head and various parts of the body, for which, he was initially treated at the local health facility and is now receiving further treatment at the Tatopani Dry Port Customs Office.
Ward Chairman of Bhotekoshi Gaunpalika-2 Dipendra Kumar Shrestha said that Magar would be taken to the capital for further treatment.
This monsoon has so far been very costly for Sindhupalchowk with many people, especially in Jambu and Khagdal of Barhabise Municipality, losing their lives and property to floods and landslides. In order to provide some relief, leaders and cadres of Nepali Congress (NC) and its regional committee have provided food aid to 43 such families of these areas at their own expense.
Bal Krishna Basnet, regional president of NC, informed that the families had been given a sack of rice, pulses, cooking oil and salt, among other food items. He also said that they would be given financial assistance and would be supported in their daily lives as well.
Similarly, the Indreni programme, which airs on ABC Television, has also provided food and other assistance to such families of Jambu and Khagdal.
Barhabise Municipality will also provide Rs 100,000 to households for each deceased member of the family, according to Mayor Nimfunjo Sherpa.