Rai had gone to watch over his corn fields half an hour away from his house, leaving his wife and sons by themselves the night of the tragedy. The landslide accompanied by heavy downpour destroyed his home and killed his sons. “My wife was also injured. But thank God she survived, otherwise I would have been left all alone,” says Rai, who has separated from his parents.
Rai had been cultivating chiraito, a kind of medicinal herb, and other crops all year round on his 10 ropani of land at Bhasme to make ends meet. In addition, he was always ready to work as a porter to help feed his family. “There is no purpose in my working now,” laments Rai, whose house was the first of four to be swept away by the landslide.
The bodies of his three sons were found under the rubble of his house on July 27. Locals had a difficult time looking after Rai as he fainted on seeing the lifeless bodies. “He only came to after we sprinkled some water on his face,” recalls Aash Bahadur Rai, a local.
While Rai´s 25 year-old-wife is currently in Kathmandu for treatment, the last rites for their sons are being held as per the Kulung Rai tradition. The eldest, Jeevan, was seven-years-old and enrolled at Himalisiddha Primary School in grade one. Four-year-old Charesh and two-year-old Laxman used to stay at home with their parents.
The landslide also destroyed Rai´s land and livestock. “I lost around a kilo of chiraito seed that I had bought with a lot of hard-earned money,” he says. That amount of seed could have brought in about Rs 100,000.
Rai has been provided Rs 25,000 for the last rites of each of his sons and another Rs 10,000 rupees as relief. He also received 50 kg of rice, beaten rice, noodles, a blanket, a tent and some cooking utensils. The relief has not taken away his grief. “The government will not be able to return my crops but I hope that they will build a home for me,” says Rai hopefully.
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