By Narendra Dhakal
Gorkha, July 22: Khem Maya Devkota's family of Rautepani in Palungtar Municipality-3, in Gorkha district, has been forced to take temporary shelter in a nearby school ever since their house was swept away by a landslide some 20 days ago.
Devkota said she had not faced such a hardship even in the wake of 2015 Gorkha earthquake. In the aftermath of the landslide, eleven families including Devkota’s had to leave the village at once. Two other families have been living in rented rooms in Thantipokhari area. One family has shifted to Dhansar in Besi while the remaining eight families continue to take shelter in the school.
"It is very difficult to live here. I am very tired of cooking and sleeping,” she said. “I have no home to go back to. We don't have any place to go around. The government has to provide us with shelter."
Locals are worried that the necessary assistance has not arrived from anywhere even almost a month after the landslide hit.
They have complained that the municipality has not provided even a plastic to cover the landslide affected areas. "No one listened to our pain and we were forced to go to Thantipokhari with our parents and children," said another local, Bishnuhari Devkota. His family of six is ​​now renting a room in Thantipokhari Bazaar.
Meanwhile, Palungtar Municipality has claimed that it was making necessary preparations for the resettlement of the families displaced by the floods.
Mayor Deepak Babu Kandel said work was underway to identify the possible places. "We are bringing geologists to study the area and find safe place for them to live in soon," he said.
Similarly, a technical team of the municipality is also studying to find a safe place to shift them.
Floods and landslides on July 1 and after had damaged property in different wards of Palungtar Municipality.
The landslide caused the most damage in wards 3 and 5. Landslides have also hit other wards as well. Similarly, floods in different parts of wards 9 and 10 had eroded arable land and ravaged houses.
People in different parts of the municipality are forced to take shelter elsewhere after the floods and landslides struck. At present, a team of technicians including engineers, technicians, veterinarians and others has started on-site study under the leadership of the ward chairperson. Mayor Kandel informed that a concrete programme would be laid out after receiving the details of all the places.
According to Palungtar Municipality, 42 houses have been completely damaged in the landslide. Information Officer Rul Bahadur Ale said that 55 houses were partially damaged and upwards of 250 houses were at risk. He added that the number could increase after the study committee collects the details.