Chechhu Tamang, a physically-challenged woman from the same village, had lost her house in the earthquake. Since then her family lives in a tent in Betrawati. "The heat is unbearable. This tent does not stand the monsoon rain well. Water seeps in through it," she said. "There is shortage of clean drinking water, clean public toilets and lack of insect repellents." Chechhu further informed that it has been hard for her to move around on her wheel chair due to her physical disability.The issue is more or less similar for pregnant women, kids and old people. Mendomaya Tamang, a nursing mother, from the same village also shared similar experiences of living in tents. Her newly born child has already suffered from pneumonia twice due to severe cold and unhygienic conditions. "The doctor has advised us to keep our child safe from cold. But under this tent that cannot fully save us from the moisture and the heavy monsoon rainfall that at times keeps on pouring down incessantly, I cannot do anything about it." She added that water-purifying chemicals that were provided to her family by an organization have been ineffective in purifying the dirty riverside water.
Bukimaya, mother of a three-month old baby and a widow who lost her husband in a landslide after the earthquake expressed grave concerns. "When there is a heavy downpour, the rain seeps inside our tents very easily. It gets very difficult to even to sit at night without getting wet from the rain. I am very much worried about the fate of my child," she said.
Like, Mendomaya and Bukimaya, 87 nursing mothers are forced to live under the tents and are struggling to keep their babies safe from mosquito bites, monsoon dew, unhygienic drinking water, unhygienic settlements that lack proper sanitations around the camp site.
Lakshman Tamang, a local of Haku said that the trend of falling sick is prevalent more among the pregnant women, kids and old people. He said that this "vulnerable population is having a very hard time. There is no alternative for them, like others, than to sleep in tents over moist floors."
Many children were seen lying down due to fever and many of them play around the camp site. As schools remain closed their education has come to a stand still.
With the insistent rain continuing, the quake-cracked hills are giving in and landslides have become more frequent in the area along with the above hostile living conditions. This has forced the 187 families camping in Betrawati to relocate from there.
Mailung Ashabir Tamang said, "We had camped here after our village was destroyed by earthquake and the village area became prone to landslides. But it's not possible to live here with so many adversities. We are making temporary camps in Naubise area of Lahrepauwa-9, of Rasuwa." They have taken the land on lease at a rate of Rs 2700 per ropani.
Related story
Our story
