"They have told me that it would cost Rs 200,000 to demolish my house. The quake has left me homeless. In this situation, how will I manage the cost?" questions Chaulagain, a local of Jhangajholi VDC of Sindhuli district. Masons have hiked their wages after the quake, she says.Chaulagain had hoped to recover some of the building materials to use it to build a new house. "The demolition cost is too high. It has now become more challenging for us to demolish the old house than to build a new one," she said.
She said her family does not have any problem living in their makeshift house, which they built after the quake. However, they are worried that the damaged house may collapse during monsoon and kill someone.
Similar is the plight of Taraksha Karki of Bhimeshwar VDC. He says he had heard that Nepal Army personnel are demolishing damaged houses and was hoping for them to demolish his house. However, NA men have not reached his VDC so far.
"Children go near the damaged house despite our warnings. Our heart skips a beat when we see that," said Karki. "It would have been better had the house collapsed in the quake. We cannot demolish the house ourselves and we cannot afford the cost demanded by masons," he added.
There are more quake damaged houses than those that have completely collapsed. Most of the houses that have been damaged in the quake are not suitable for habitation. Yet, the villagers neither have the expertise to demolish them nor are they able to afford the cost demanded by masons.
As many as 41,000 households in the district have been destroyed in the quake. Locals have been living under tarpaulins and temporary shelter nearby their damaged houses.
"Monsoon is approaching fast. If we do not demolish the house now, it will collapse anytime after the monsoon begins," added Karki.
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