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6 months on, quake victims still out in the cold

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Madhusudan Guragain Earthquake victim Suryavati Ranjit, the wife of Kanchha Ranjit, in their makeshift shack, at Banepa Municipality pictured this week.
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GORKHA, RASUWA, BANEPA, Oct 30: Maite Gurung could not sleep at all on Wednesday night. He struggled to hold on to the tarpaulin of his makeshift shelter even as rain and storm tore at it. The 50-year-old thought only about his small children and the fast approaching winter. On Thursday morning, Gurung was greatly disheartened on seeing a pool of water all around his shack and even inside it.

"I could not sleep in the night and I feel restless during daytime. There is water all around. What to do?" said Gurung in a faint voice. The father of six is certain that even tougher days lie ahead.


Gurung had a good life before April 25. The devastating earthquake on that fateful day changed everything.

"When will things get back to normal? Our bedding, our warm clothing, other assets and our home were snatched away by the quake. Now we have just two sets of clothing as our earthly possession," he said.

Barpak in Gorkha district, the epicenter of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, has tried to get back on its feet several times. Reports have lauded the initiatives of the locals to fight the hard times. However, in lack of proper shelter, it's difficult to face nature's cruelties, noted Gurung.

Jummadin Miya, another earthquake victim from Gorkha, lamented that all the firewood that his family collected has been left soaking wet by the rain. "We have not been able to light fire. Even the grain we stored away has been dampened by the rain," he said.

Miya added that the quake-displaced had to put up with the scorching heat this summer and now rain and winter cold stare at them. "Living under tarpaulins or metal sheets, both hot and cold become a problem. But rain is the worst," he noted.

After the earthquake, many in Gorkha, Rasuwa, Nuwakot and other hard-hit districts left for the capital and elsewhere in search of safety. They later trickled back to their villages, but with little headway in reconstruction they have no choice but to continue making do under their makeshift shelters.

Nima Tamang of Dhunche, Rasuwa and Kanchha Ranjit in Banepa are in similar plight. Wednesday's heavy rain has robbed them of any peace of mind. Ranjit said the government has let down its own citizens. He also alleged that the NGOs "only did what was favorable to themselves rather than what was needed by the earthquake victims".

"We have families. We have elderly and children. With no proper shelter, many are going to fall ill," he lamented.

Tamang added that victims like herself have not been able to forget that day of horrors. "We lost our house. Landslides and rain continue to dog us. Life is so hard," she said adding that Wednesday's rain has made things even worse. "Give us proper shelter."

People have been living in temporary settlements for six months now. They say they have no words to describe the troubles they have gone through. Tamang says the government has to understand that the earthquake victims need real support. "Just a little help is no help. We need much more."

The government had provided Rs 15,000 to each earthquake-hit family as initial relief. But its attention was later diverted by political developments and the quake victims are almost forgotten.

"We were sent immediate relief, which we duly distributed. But nothing more has been forthcoming," said Dhrubaraj Nepal, a senior official at Banepa Municipality.



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