Tragedy upon Tragedy: Sindhupalchowk

(May 3 2015 )

Sindhupalchowk district had already suffered enough due to landslide in August, 2014 where 156 people were confirmed dead while hundreds of houses had swept away. It has just been few months, people were returning to their normal life forgetting the pain of loss of loved ones and rebuilding their collapsed and swept houses. 

They were trying to smile again gathering the broken and scattered parts.

But once again, the cruel nature snatched their smiles by taking away everything from them. Either its loss of family members or relatives, home, cattle or crops. Their strength, patience and hope, everything has been scattered once again. 

Saturday's earthquake is a doom to all Nepalese, but to the locals of Sindhupalchowk, it’s a bit more.

This district has recorded the highest death toll in the massive earthquake that jolted Nepal on Saturday noon as more than 2500 people have already lost their lives and the number is still in rise. Devastation of Sindhupalchowk can make anyone numb.

When I visited the place two days ago, the situation was quite terrific as people are still struggling to get some packet of biscuits or noodles and tent from the state side. 

It's already been more than a week, but the people are still waiting to have a single presence of the state, whose responsibility is to protect its citizens. 

Yes, we could notice hundreds of vehicles on the way with relief distribution programs written on the banner, but the locals have common plea, "when we will get some relief?" Either it was Sukute, Khaadi Chaur, Barhabise, Saaga Chowk or Chautara, the situation is similar. 

There are thousands of people but only few hundreds of tent so it's no way the relief program has been effective.

Barhabise has something different story, as it has tragedy upon a tragedy. 

This north-eastern part of the district has been witnessing two disasters at the same time with huge human and infrastructures loss. The helpless locals have been struggling to cope up with both aftershocks as well as landslide.

The road section from Barhabise to Tatopani under Araniko Highway, which leads towards the Chinese border, has been badly hit by landslide since last Saturday. As most of the people of this area are based on Tatopani and Liping for trade purpose considering the nearest border town Khaasa, locals say unknown number of people have been missing. 

According to their estimations, few hundreds of people might have been trapped on the way while returning to their villages following quake.

Jeet Bahadur Katuwal, Barhabise Village Development Committee (VDC) Secretary shared that more than one thousand people might have trapped in the landslide. As the roads have not been cleared yet, nothing can be said. Such remarks are really heart-throbbing as people are facing two disasters at the same time.

Nearly after a week, two bull dozers reached till Gaati VDC where dozens of bus, trucks and motorbikes were trapped. The roads have been completely blocked from Marmimg VDC onwards as even locals and police prohibited us to visit ahead. You can imagine how dangerous the situation is there.

Locals say road-clearing process is too difficult in this mountainous part as equipments are not available. Following this, many people in villages have already given up hope on return of their loved ones, who are also trapped in landslide.

24 years old Muna Shrestha was playing with her two-years-old daughter Akira inside a truck in Barhabise on Saturday morning. 

She looked pale and had only few words to speak with us. I knew that she is among the one whose husband Govinda Shrestha has been missing since the day of landslide occurrence.

Her mother-in-law Meena Shrestha, who was sitting next to her shared that she talked with her son 6 days ago when he had called in mobile and said he is on the way to home, safe. Since then, they have heard nothing about him. 

There was hope till Friday but it too was shattered when Govinda's friend Kumar Tamang's dead body was recovered from the landslide hit area.

After visiting this area, what I felt was people are less afraid of earthquake, more of landslide. Even I could sleep only for two hours inside a tent with a fear of 'when that big hill behind of us may fall and take our life'. Life is risky every single second there.

In tea-chat, a local enterpriser Gyan Bahadur Shrestha shared that they don’t want a packet of biscuit or free noodles distributed by the state, they want road to be cleared so that they can find the whereabouts of neighbors and relatives. 

People of Barhabise have been coping the disaster themselves through support of young and energetic youths, either to build the tents or sharing a common kitchen in the ground.

I wanted to salute these strong locals, who are surviving two big natural disasters at their shoulders. But felt sad that how miserable the condition is that a single road-section cannot be cleared even within 9 days.

Even after my return, a sentence of missing Govinda's mother keeps on echoing in my mind," There can be hope that a person can be rescued alive from debris of collapsed building, but not from landslide".