Needless to say, all the toilets in the village were destroyed along with houses and other infrastructures in the devastating quake.
The villagers, habituated to using toilet have now been compelled to defecate in the open for the last three weeks. The locals are now staying in tents after their houses were destroyed in the quake.
With a population of more than 5,000 and an increasing number of outsiders visiting the area for relief distribution, the village is increasingly becoming dirty."We are in dire need of toilets just like any other daily necessity," said Jeet Bahadur Ghale, a local.
The Nepal Police and Nepal Army personnel deployed in the village after the disaster have built some temporary toilets. But this is insufficient for the thousands of Barpak locals and outsiders visiting the area, Ghale said.
Some of the locals have also dug a hole in the ground for defecation, but this is increasingly posing a threat to public health. Open defecation has also increased the risk of contamination of water sources, locals said.
"We are aware of the health risks but helpless as our focus is on building a proper shelter before the arrival of monsoon," said Ansila BK, a local.
Leopards terrify locals
As the villagers have moved to open spaces after their houses were destroyed in the quake, leopards are being frequently sighted around their temporary shelters.
The village that used to be illuminated with electricity throughout the night now has no power supply after the quake damaged a micro-hydro project in the area. Locals said all 1,400 households in the village have been spending their nights out in the open in darkness. "Villagers are terrified after some of them spotted leopard roaming around the village," said Colonel Sunil Singh Rathod of Nepal Army.
Free internet for a year in Barpak
The epicenter of 7.8 magnitude earthquake, Barpak has become a free wifi-zone from Tuesday. The initiative of Lumbini Net Pvt. Ltd, Boardlink and Radio Gorkha has connected the villagers with rest of the world.
The internet service providers have installed solar battery for the service whereas Radio Gorkha has set a separate tower at Gorkha Bazar and a device at Barpak for internet connectivity.
Online communication would also help those who want to come to the village with relief materials, said Khemraj Adhikari of Lumbini Net Pvt. Ltd.
Related story
KMC to run 10 smart toilets, provide sanitation materials to pv...
