Injured around epicenter still wait for rescue

POKHARA, April 27: “We are staying on a side of a big stone. Landslides after the earthquake has swept away the land around us,” said Namrata Kafle, a social activist from Kashigaun, Gorkha, on a telephone conversation with Republica. “Now, we don’t have any food to eat and water to drink. Wells around the area are also swept away by the landslide. Dozens of villagers are waiting for the rescue operations,” she added.

This is the saga of Kashigaun, Gorkha, where the rescue team has yet to reach. Kafle informed that there is no space left even to land a helicopter. She has been begging to be rescued by calling journalists and government officials to assist here. However, the government rescue team is yet to locate the trapped people. A team, including Kafle, had reached the northern region of Gorkha. She said that they have been surviving on chocolates the team had carried while going to the region.

Only 24 hours after the earthquake, rescue operation was started in the Barpak village of Gorkha. Due to a lack of helicopters, only 60 injured people were brought to Pokhara from Barpak on Sunday. According to Ramji Koirala, an officer at the Regional Administration Office, a helicopter sent by India has been deployed to assist ongoing rescue efforts in Gorkha. However, rescue teams are are still unclear on how to reach to the people like Kafle, who are trapped in remote area.
As the epicenter of the earthquake was at Barpak, Gorkha, the administration started rescue operations from the village assuming it was the worst hit. However, the administration is still unaware of the situation of villages adjourning Barpak. Helicopters have reached Gorkha on Monday with relief materials. The helicopters left their relief supplies there and returned with the injured to Pokhara. Most of the injured have sustained injuries on their heads and limbs.

Ranabeer Gurung, an injured brought to Pokhara from Barpak, said all the 1200 houses in the village are demolished and a large number of villagers are out of contact. He fears they are buried in the ruins of their demolished houses. “Only people easily accessed by the rescue team are brought to Pokhara. Most of the villagers could be under the demolished structures,” said Gurung. “All the houses made up of clay and stones crumbled down. Some houses made with cement and concrete are also partly damaged. Gurung added. He informed that the people are unable to protect themselves from the rain since they don't have tents. Gurung said that building houses again in the village could be impossible as the ground has huge cracks. Most of the rescued people from Barpak are the elderly and women and children.

“People standing on open fields also sustained injuries. All four hundred houses in Manbu village were damaged by the earthquake,” said Thakur Prasad Pudasaini from the village. Villages in northern side of Gorkha – namely Kerainja, Kashigaun, Thumi, Laapu, Barpak, Manbu, Larpak – have sustained serious damages.

“People are getting hungry and living with whatever they had worn,” said Bhim Maya Ghale from Barpak. “We were sure we would die,” she added.

An army official deployed with the rescue team said that no helicopters could reach the villages in northern side of Gorkha. “Landslides have hit the area and helicopters could not in land in many places. It takes more than two days to reach the villages by walking since the landslides have damaged the roads to the villages,” he informed.

According to District Police Chief in Gorkha, DSP Arjun Chand, rescue teams are yet to reach the villages on the north of Barpak. “It has been reported that Gumba, Laapu, Kashigaun, Uhiya, Laprak villages are mostly damaged but the rescue team is yet to arrive. The weather is hindering rescue operations by helicopters. Sending rescue teams by land also seems impossible right now. The road to reach Barpak has been completely damaged by the earthquake and landslides,” said Chand. He said that food and tents are sent only to the villages where helicopters can land.