"We do not have any land as half of the total land in the ward has been swept away by floodings in the Mahakali River. Also, our village is not suitable for agriculture," said Banmati Damai, 75. "The young have no choice but to go look for employment abroad, mostly in India," added the local of Parshuram Municipality. According to him, the villages do not have any males between the ages of 11 and 60.More than 150 families in various localities in Parshuram-6, including Sargaida, Thandajal, Simalkhet, Patreni and Busgoira have been displaced by flooding. At least 200 males from these families have gone abroad for work.
"All those who can afford it have already migrated out. Only the poor are left behind," said Chandra Dangi, a local teacher. At least three people from every family are working in various Indian cities, he said.
According to Harka Dhami, another local, all the families depend heavily on remittances received from outside the country. "We cannot imagine making ends meet without the remittances. We won't be able to manage even basic necessities such as food," said Dhami.
And the lack of male youths has hindered various activities in the villages. There were only a handful of male participants in the voting in the last Constitution Assembly election. The majority of voters were females. Lack of males is even more glaring during funeral processions. On such occasions, youths from other villages are called in.
On a more positive side, a growing number of women are to be seen participating in such activities. "As the villages have only female youths left, we have no option but to take the men's work into our hands. So you can see our presence in all social activities," said Sundari Singh.
The locals believe that they are also living the conseuences of natural disasters in the region. Fragile geography and rampant deforestation are loosening up the soil, making it vulnerable to landslides and floods, said Yamuna Datta Joshi, VDC secretary of Jogbuda. "Floods and landslides trouble us every year," he said.
"We need to conserve the forests in the Chure to avert disasters," said Tari Singh Bohara, former secetary of Shirsha VDC. According to Chakra Prashad Synehi, chairman of Chure Conservation Committee, Jogbuda, "Conservation of many of the community forests is challenging as most of the deforestation activity is led by forest officials."
However, the absence of male youths and adults from these villages is not a tale of just this part of the country. According to government data, over three million males are currently engaged in foreign employment.
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