Setu and fellow protestors were on a mission to demolish the under-construction statue of then king Gyanendra at New Road in Nepalgunj on that fateful day of April 18, 2006. She may have succumbed to a tear gas shell that hit her flush in the mouth, but demolished the statue was and her statue erected at the very spot is testimony to her ultimate contribution. [break]
She had left her house in Bageshwari-3, Banke asking her eldest son Ashish, who was nine then, to look after his two younger brothers for a short while. Hordes of people from the village would regularly travel 12 kilometers to the district headquarter but she had yet to participate.
The 25-year-old completed her chores early in the morning cooked for her three sons and left home at nine. "Stay at home and look after your brothers. I will return in a moment," she had uttered before leaving.
But the moment never came. "There was no problem with seven-year-old Sagar but three-year-old Suman started crying immediately after the mother left and was hard to attend throughout the day," Ashish reminisces. Father Sher Bahadur was working in Gujarat, India and the three siblings somehow made do with the food cooked by Setu for the day.
Many had ran for cover when the police resorted to firing tear gas shells but Setu was one brave woman and stayed in the front of the mass that was determined to destroy the under-construction statue.
She asked for water, which was not available amidst the chaos, after being hit by the shell and passed out. "She died of suffocation after being hit by the shell on her mouth," neighbor Maya Ram BK reasons.
Fellow protestors tried to save her by taking to India for treatment but she breathed her last while on way to the hospital. Back home the three kids went to neighbors to ask for her after she didn´t return after some time but the neighbors too had gone for joining protests.
The three boys fell asleep while waiting for their mother and awoke only after some neighbors and strangers woke them up. "They said mother would never return back," Ashish recalls the devastating moment.
The trio had to spend the next two days with neighbors until Sher Bahadur returned the third day. "I had wished to come for Chaite Dashain but she asked me not to come due to the ongoing agitation," Sher Bahadur says. "I had sent her IRs 6,000 a week before. I found all the money inside a box after I returned," he adds.
Hardship after Setu´s death
The government has done its bit by depositing one million rupees in the name of the three kids to be withdrawn only after they mature, the District Education Office provides Rs 24,000 per year for their education and the District Administration Office provides a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000. But that is not sufficient to support the family that does not have any property and is living on 10 kattha of public land.
"I used to work in India and earn while she would run the home. After her death, I had to stay back to look after the sons," Sher Bahadur reasons. He had to marry again to raise the sons and second wife Buddhi has given birth to another son adding to the number of mouths to feed.
"Many persons and organizations had visited us with promise of financial help after Setu died. But the promised help has not arrived," Sher Bahadur rues. Setu´s youngest son Suman is currently studying at SOS Balgram in Surkhet on the recommendation of the district education officer, but the two others are facing difficulty in study.
Third grader Ashish and Sagar, who studies in grade one, have to walk two and a half kilometers to Khajura to school. They were boarders at a school in Khajura until six months ago but have to now walk the distance as Sher Bahadur couldn´t afford the residential cost.
The sons, who say their mother attained martyrdom when asked about her, want to do some noble work after studies. "We walk five kilometers each day due to our love for education," Ashish points out. But they have to deal with financial hardships at least until they mature.
The hardship is not limited to Setu´s family and even her stone statue is facing torrid times. Some unidentified persons destroyed her statue six months ago and is under wraps now. The political parties and stakeholders sadly have not found time to repair the deformed statue of the only martyr of Banke district.
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