The octogenarian couple that has been living in the remote village for years has been left in dire straits even as aftershocks continue to threaten their safety.
"I could neither run out of the house nor ask anyone for help," Karna Bahadur said, recounting his horror at his makeshift hut located just to the side of the debris of his home.
"Everyone ran out of the house but there was no one to hear us," his wife Suwani said, elaborating on the apathy of others described by her husband. It took them more than an hour to reach a safer spot.
The Thami couple, despite having four daughters and a son, have been left badly affected by the earthquake, like hundreds of other elderly across the quake hit zone. It has been years since their children abandoned them to their fate and never came back.
Karna Bahadur's neighbor Asbir Thami, 45, said they were worried for the couple but could not help at the time as they had a hard time saving themselves.
The government estimates that over 600,000 people above 60 years of age were particularly affected by the quake, killing hundreds of them and seriously injuring many others. According to a recent survey by Nepal Police, of the 611 seriously injured patients in six different hospitals in Kathmandu Valley, 76 are elderly citizens.
"It is obvious that the elderly and children are most vulnerable groups during any kind of disaster," said SSP Sarbendra Khanal, deputy spokesperson of Nepal Police.
People with disabilities and the old who survive a disaster might find themselves at just the beginning of a greater struggle, he said adding that they face greater complications than younger folks. Most elderly people suffer from vision and hearing loss and lack quick responses, and this becomes a major problem for survival and safety.
Maha Prasad Parajuli, chairman of Senior Citizens' Struggle Committee which has been agitating for more than two years for special rights for senior citizens, said the government has lumped the elderly together with all the others, thus compounding the complications they face during times of disaster.
"Neither government stakeholders nor the international relief agencies have made any effort to help elderly citizens, especially from the rural areas," he said.
Karna Bahadur of Ghorthali village has experienced similar apathy. "We heard of NGOs, INGOs and many rights activists distributing relief and providing medical treatment. But this has been confined to accessible places with road connectivity," he complained.
"Some villagers walked hours to reach Barhabise, the nearest town, to seek some relief, but we don't have the energy to walk," he said showing a corn basket that survived earthquake damage.
The National Human Right Commission (NHRC) on Sunday drew the attention of the government to the need to make special arrangements for the most vulnerable groups-- pregnant women, the physically disabled, children and elderly citizens.
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