By Janarjan Khatri, Sarlahi, Feb. 3: The traditional clay roof tiles (Khapada) that were widely found in rural areas of Terai-Madhesh in the past are now becoming so hard to see because of the usage of new types of tile in newly built buildings.

The roof of the newly made buildings is tiled with tali and alabaster. So except for some old houses, new buildings do not have a roof with Khapada.

It has become difficult to see homes that are roof tiled with khapada in Terai, so one can find the traditional roof tiled home only in some old settlements, said Rajesh Kuswaha, a youth from Sekhauna, Dhankaul Rural Municipality-1.

Aged people say that Khapada absorbs heat in the summer hot season thus provides coolness, and in cold seasons it provides warmth.

The usage of tali and alabaster tile is less expensive in comparison to Khapada, despite it being the traditionally used tile in rooftops. This in turn has made people opt for tali and alabaster tiles while building new houses.

Consequently, people have now turned to other employment by leaving the traditional occupation of making Khapada as the demand is on the decline.

Krishna Prasad Barma, chairman of Ramnagar Rural Municipality in the far south-western part of the district, said that the use of tali and alabaster instead of Khapada has increased as the economic situation of the villagers is improving.

"Most of them are now building concrete houses. Even when building mud houses, tali tiles and alabaster are being used more and more," said ward chair Burma.

Many concrete houses have been built in Dhankaul, Basbaria, Ramnagar, Balara, Godaita, Vishnu, Chakraghatta and other municipalities in the south-western region of the district where Khapada was the main roof making material in the past.

People in south-east areas like Brahmapuri, Parsa, Chandranagar, Haripurwa, and other areas have also given up building houses with Khapada tiled roofs.

Former teacher Kaushal Kishor Rai, a resident of Malangwa district headquarters, said that most of the originality of Madhesh is being lost due to increasing urbanization.

"Not only the roof of the Khapada, most of the original art objects that characterize the Madhesh are disappearing," he said.