Authorities cite lack of budget to relocate the village

MUGU, March 31: Dozens of houses at Riga village situated in the western part of the district are at high risk of landslides. Residents of this village, which is part of the Khatyad Rural Municipality, say that they have seen signs of impending disaster. As such some of them have been even spending the night outside their homes since the last few days.

“We are very restless. It seems that our village is going to be struck by huge disaster,” said Mana Rup Sharma, a resident of the village. “It seems that a huge landslide will crush our village even if there is a little rainfall,” added the 54-year-old.

Sharma's house, which is made of mud and stone, is situated at the base of a rocky cliff. If it rains, he fears that the loose structure of the cliff will slide down and crush his house along with the village.

Political parties have raised the issue of relocating this village to a safer location consistently during every election held in recent years. Almost all election candidates have reached the doorsteps of Riga residents and assured that they would relocate the village once they are elected to the office. However, so far no one has returned to fulfil the pledge they made to Riga residents, residents claim.

Every year, residents of villages such as Riga situated at the base of steep mountains, across the district fear for their lives as soon as the monsoon sets in. “I have witnessed natural calamities quite a few times in my life. This area is not very safe. But what can we do?” wondered Sharma.

Leaving ancestral land and relocating the village to a safer place is not an option for the villagers. "We struggle to earn a living for our families. It is tough for us feed our families. In such a situation, how can we get the resources to purchase land to relocate and to build new homes for our families? It is something that only rich people can do, not poor people like us."

“We live in extreme fear, but we can't migrate to safer places,” Sharma further lamented. The earthquake of 2015 has left the locals more terrified. The earthquake and its aftershocks massively affected the structure of the cliff. They said they faced they witness much more landslides that year than in the past.

“After that earthquake, our village has become even more vulnerable to landslides. The quake and its aftershocks continued to shake our village for a long time. Since then, landslides have been more recurrent here,” he said.

The residents claimed that they experience minor earthquakes quite often. The epicenter of these earthquakes is said to be in Rugin area of Bajura district, they said.

“If an earthquake hits in Bajura, no matter how small, we too get affected due to our physical proximity to the region,” said Sharma.

There are around 100 households in Sharma's village. If a big landslide occurs, as the villagers fear, the entire village could get buried under the debris. Mugu and Bajura locals had seen massive landslides over one and half decade ago. In 2000, landslides had taken human lives, killed cattle and also buried some schools in Sharma's village. “The memory still makes me nervous,” Sharma reminisced.                        

Not just houses, but schools in the village are also at risk of landslides. According to Keshab Rokaya, principal at the Nepal Elementary School, the school building is very fragile. “I don't think it's capable of absorbing little shocks, let alone big landslides,” he said.

Due to safety concerns, he sends students home as soon as it begins to rain. Rain or storm in the village triggers fears of a landslide in the villagers. “We feel that we would be in great problem if we continue their studies amid rain or storm. We don't have a strong school building,” said Rokaya.

According to him, there are several other schools in the district which are equally fragile. However, in lack of resources to build a new strong building for the school, the school continues to teach at the existing building.

Political parties have raised the issue of relocating this village to a safer location consistently during every election held in recent years. Almost all election candidates have reached the doorsteps of Riga residents and assured that they would relocate the village once they are elected to the office. However, so far no one has returned to fulfil the pledge they made to Riga residents, residents claim.

“Even in the last local level election, we were given the same assurance. They came to our doorstep and told us that they would find a new place for the village to relocate,” reported Sharma. “But after the elections, they have not contacted us. Even if we go to meet them at their office, they avoid meeting us,” he added.

Another resident fo the village, Manoj Giri said that their problem could not be solved unless it is taken very seriously by the government. “Unless this is dealt at the political level, it is not going to be addressed. There are not one or two but dozens of houses which are under high risk of landslide. So, resettling the families is not possible unless the government shows the willingness to help,” he said.            

Meanwhile, Ubjan Bahadur Shahi, chairperson of Khatyad Rural Municipality stated that the lack of budget had marred his plan of relocating the village to a safer location. “The settlements which are at high risk of landslides have to be relocated to safer locations. We have taken initiatives in this regard and are waiting for the budget required to do so,” he said. “We have talked to the central and the provincial government. Hopefully, they will release the required budget soon,” he added.

 
• mugu
 
• village
 
• risk
 
• landslide