The locals said that 38 families have been displaced in the village with houses of 21 families in vulnerable condition after the landslide of September 30."It was late evening, when suddenly, the land beneath us started shaking. We all went out only to find out that a mountain block in Rudi was falling downward which swept away all our houses and properties along with it," said Arj Karki, one of the displaced locals.
Some of the displaced families have been residing in temporary shelters for the time being whereas others are staying under the open sky.
According to Karki, the other displaced locals include Chature Karki, Tejsur Karki, Deep Karki, Jaysur Karki, Dhan Karki, Kashi Karki, Ranadeep Budha, Ram Budha and Kar Dhami of Selapata.
Further, a UCPN-Maoist leader, Suresh BK said that pipelines and other sources of drinking water have been buried under the debris.
He said, "The villagers need to walk about an hour to reach the Karnali River to fetch water."
Gauri Dhami, one of the displaced locals said that the villagers had not imagined of such disaster at all as there was not much rainfall during the monsoon.
She added, "Nothing happened during the rainy season. Instead we had to go through severe drought back then. It was like a bolt out of the blue."
It has affected the education of kids as well as the villagers daily source of income. The disaster was an added burden to the villagers who make their living by farming as they were already reeling under the spell of drought before the sudden landslide.
According to the locals, the village had gone through a similar disaster in 1985 when the whole village had been buried underneath the debris.
At that time, the villagers had stayed back to rebuild the area as it was a prospective area for farming.
Aid provision for affected locals Relief materials have been distributed to the affected locals in Sappata-3, Rudi, as informed by the District Administration Office (DAO) of Bajura.
Jayavir Katel, a kharidar (assistant official) of the DAO, who had led the relief distribution team, said that ten displaced families had been provided with financial aid as well.
The District Disaster Relief Committee had distributed a tarpaulin to each displaced family and Rs 5,000 to the 10 families along with buckets, blankets and tarpaulin.
As the village is still under the risk of future landslides, the locals have demanded sustainable rehabilitation of the village with the authorities.
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