THURPU (PANCHTHAR), Dec 4: Until three weeks back, Surendra Khewang, of Dahalgaun in Panchthar, was a happy man. But a sudden misfortune left Khewang, who owns three houses in the area, and his family homeless.
On 16 November, 15 houses in the area including those owned by Khewang were gutted in a midnight fire on November 15. And it was the Khewangs who lost the most to the fire. The family is now living in a tent in the area. [break]
When road arrived in the area connecting the district headquarters some 15 years ago, Khewang sold a piece of land which developed into market.
"I sold the land thinking that life would be easier if there is a market nearby," said Khewang, adding, "The fire spread from the house built on the land that I had sold."
Surendra, who is a farmer by profession, had built two other houses as well in the market. Surendra lost property worth around Rs 2. 5 million in the fire.
Locals claim that family disputes between one Bikram Yonghang and his wife Hema Bhandari led to the fire.