Landslide in Chwaseghari buries a village

Published On: August 4, 2019 05:30 AM NPT By: Ramesh Khatiwada

Two missing, 50 houses displaced

DOLAKHA, August 4: It was around 11 pm on Friday when Tika Bahadur Khatri, a local teacher in Aplepu of Gaurishankar Rural Municipality, Dolakha, received a frantic call from one of his neighbors.

The call was to alert him about a landslide that had recently started at nearby Chwaseghari. In the ensuing chaos, he rushed out of the house with his family. He could hear the landslide falling from above and they ran toward safety.

Tika Bahadur was terrified to find communities at Jhagade Dhara demolished by the incident. Out of 21 houses, 9 were buried by the landslide.

The affected people were rescued at around 1 am, two hours after the incident struck the place.

“We were rescued after some hours of the disaster and sought refuge to nearby villages and communities. It was drizzling and some of the victims spent their entire night under the open sky,” said Tika Bahadur.

Since the landslide that began from Jhagade Dhara also affected Aplepu, locals of the Sarki village fled for their lives immediately after the disaster occurred.

Another local of Jhagade, Yam Bahadur Khatri, said that the landslide has displaced around 29 families in the village. There were also other landslides the same night affecting areas like Biramsi, Jungu, Ukhubari , Namdu among other areas.

According to ward chairperson Jhalak Kumar Karki, one of the locals of Biramsi village, Jagat Bahadur Khatri, has been missing as of Saturday evening following the landslide.

A bus that was traveling from Namdu village to Jungu besi was stranded due to the flood caused by the continuous rainfall. One of the locals, Nishan Khadka, who went to rescue the stranded passengers, went missing on Friday.

Chief District Officer Khagendra Prasad Rijal informed that altogether 50 households have been displaced due to the disaster that struck around midnight.

Ten houses in Jhagade Dhara have been buried and 22 houses have sustained damages while 20 others are under risk of landslide.

He further said that the displaced are seeking refuge at Nilkantheshwar Secondary School, health posts and community buildings.

“A team of security officials and District Disaster Management Committee have reached the affected area with relief materials on Saturday. Makeshift tents have been built. Rescue teams have started distributing relief materials,” added Rijal.