All the land at Sisnechaur in Tupche VDC-1, Nuwakot district, where the Sapkotas lived, slid away during the quake, compelling them to move out.
Despite her heart-wrenching plight, Sharmila Sapkota remains a fake quake victim in the eyes of the authorities because the family does not have the land ownership papers for their property. This has deprived them of the relief announced by the government.
"They said we are not genuine victims, and thus not eligible for relief," complained 20-year-old Sharmila while shivering under a makeshift shelter in the early winter morning. Despite the cold we found her wearing a cotton blouse as she did not have anything warmer.
Nine months pregnent with her second child, she remains exposed to the elements at such a crucial time. Her feet and palms are swollen.
Her two-year-old son was found suffering from common cold and fever. And there was not enough food for the family.
Her husband Surya Bahadur was still bed-ridden. He tried to say something but found it very difficult. He was unable to find the words to describe his plight. He did manage to say that his other leg was also fractured while he was collecting fodder for their cattle. On top of all their troubles, their other ox fell off a cliff and died.
Surya Bahadur said that his two-year-old cannot sleep at night due to cold. He worries over the dipping temperatures, as the makeshift shelter would not be adequate to keep his newborn safe after his wife deliverr.
"I know this shelter is not good enough to shelter a newborn and its mother, but we have nowhere else to go," he said.
The family has been deprived of government relief as they do not have quake victim certificates. The authorities provide such certificates only to victims who have land ownership papers.
"My mother owns the land and she took away all the relief amount," he complained.
He said he has stopped going to the relief distribution camp, as they keep asking him to show proof that he is a quake victim.
Many houses in the village have been destroyed by the quake but Sapkota, who lived at the edge of the village, has been doubly victimized. He has been rendered homeless and deprived of relief, andhe is also unable to cultivating any land.
Like Sapkota, hundreds of genuine quake victims remain deprived of government relief in Nuwakot district because of their inability to show land ownership certificates. Some have been deprived of relief as they have not registered their family partitions at the VDC. Over 70,000 houses in Nuwakot were destroyed by the devastating earthquake, which also killed over 1,400 people and injured 3,000 in the district.
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