Kanchanpur. Landless families living in huts along the bank of The Vanhara River in Shuklaphanta Municipality-11 are preparing to move to safer places. Some are busy making huts, while others are busy keeping torn tarpaulins and clothes in the hut.
The landless families have started moving along the East-West Highway in view of the risk of flooding in the place where they live. Kalawati Damai said she had to shift to a safer place to save her life as the water level in the river started rising due to incessant rainfall for two consecutive days.
“Last year, when we were trying to sleep at night, we had saved us from running away in clothes when the flood submerged the camp,” she said, adding, “This year too, the possibility of flooding in the river has increased due to the possibility of flooding. ’
Some landless families have built tarpaulins provided by donor agencies, while others have made huts covered with old torn plastic and cloth. Dal Bahadur Bohara said that the more water comes out, the more it leaks into the water, so the children have to spend the night soaking in their arms.
“We sleep under a concrete bridge over the river when there is no rain,” she said, adding, “We have to stay in the leaking huts as the flood water comes under the bridge after the rain.” ’
Prakash Saud said that after the river started flooding, people used to go to the higher areas of the community forest area and get down under the trees. “Mosquitoes used to disturb the forest area by biting us,” he said, adding, “We used to save our lives even if we were wet in the rainy season. ’
Landless families have been earning their livelihood by working as labourers. Maghi Rawat complained that he had to go hungry due to lack of wages due to rainy season.
Landless families say they have been repeatedly visiting the ward office to the municipality office to arrange for swings, tarpaulin sheets and torch lights. “In the beginning, the people’s representatives used to say that we will solve the problem, but now we have stopped going to ask for it when we started talking,” said the landless families.
The families living in the camp have applied for land and housing under the land problem resolution commission. Although the settlement has been received, the settlement has not been finalized yet. A total of 28 families live in the banahara landless camp. The landless families have requested the donor agencies to arrange tarpaulin sheets to keep them in huts, provide food for two meals when there is no work during the rainy season and provide torchlights for walking during the night.
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