Thapa has been sobbing hysterically ever since she heard of her mother´s death Friday morning. Harikala had been educating the eighth grader by working on daily wages. [break]
Eight year-old Asim Thapa also lost his mother in the landslide. Since 2 pm Friday, he has been asking his elder sister Asina about his mother Bijuli Thapa.
“Grandchildren keep asking me about their mother,” said Khambilala Thapa, the children´s grandmother. “Their father works abroad. God took away their mother.”
All five who died in the landslide while working to repair an irrigation canal are from Pipaldanga locality of Resh-3. Apart from Harikala and Bijuli, Indrakala Thapa, Bali Thapa and Pavitra Thapa died in the landslide.
The children of all these women are now left to fend for themselves. Of the women, two were widows, while husbands of the rest are working abroad.
Pavitra´s three children are now taking shelter at a neighbor´s house. Her husband Dhak Bahadur has been abroad for a year now.
The five died after a landmass fell on them while they were repairing the irrigation canal.
The tragedy has engulfed the whole village, said Om Prasad Thapa, principal of Nunthala Secondary School. “With the death of mothers who were the only ones looking after the children, the little ones are really in trouble,” he said.
Locals in the village have been supporting their families through farming, daily labor and foreign employment.
All five killed in Thursday´s landslide were cremated on the banks of Kaligandaki River on Friday after post-mortem at Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital.
Six injured in the landslide are receiving treatment in Pokhara. Two with minor injuries have returned home after treatment at Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital.
The women were repairing the canal as there were no men in the village for the purpose.
Meanwhile, the District Natural Disaster Relief Committee provided Rs 25,000 as relief to each of the bereaved family on Friday, said Chief District Officer Khyam Bahadur Thapa.
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