KALIKOT, Dec 25: One of the landslide victims, Sita Shahi, 46, whose house collapsed due to a landslide at Tilagufa-4, Ranchuli, last September, has been staying at her neighbor's house. Earlier she was earning a living by running a small eatery but nowadays she is compelled to beg for a living.

She was living with her two children in the house of neighbor Krishna Bahadur Shahi and her farmland was also swept away by the landslide. She claimed, “Life is difficult as my husband Ran Bahadur Shahi has not arrived home for three years.”

She complains that her house in Ranchuli Bazar near the Karnali Highway was swept away in the landslide. 

Her family got a bag of rice, 5 kg of lentils , 5 packets of oil, 2 packets of salt through the  Sahayatra project in the month of November which had helped them to sustain. She is happy after getting more help this time. 

On November 25, with the help of Start Fund Network, World Vision and Kirdak Nepal provided food items worth Rs 13,500 including four sacks of rice, 20 kg of lentils, 10 packets of edible oil, and 5 kg of sugar. "This relief will last three months. It is said that the house will be built, but the work has not started yet." She added. She is worried about how to face the freezing cold this winter. She said that the food was given by the donors and if the government had given the housing facility it would be a great help.

The house of Apsara Shahi, who has a family of eight, also collapsed in the landslides. With the help of Start Fund, her family living in the house of the local Bhandari Shahi,  have also received food aid worth Rs 13,500.

Thirteen people died in the landslide triggered by continuous rains on October 5 in Tilagufa-4, Ranchuli. Although one body was found, 12 people are still missing.

As many as 23 people lost their lives due to a landslide in Kalikot and hundreds of families were rendered homeless. According to the CDO, Ramhari Sharma of Kalikot, 340 families were affected by the landslides in Tilagufa and Khandachakra  and food aid worth  Rs 13,500 per family was distributed with the help of donors. He said, "This rain has been devastating that has never been seen in the history of Kalikot."

Gautam Raj Adhikari, the program director of Kirdak Nepal, said that the victims’ families were provided with the necessary foodstuffs and non-food items worth Rs 13,500 per family. Senior citizens, single women, children below five years of age and nursing mothers who have given birth in the last 1000 days were  provided nutritious food and hygiene kits were also distributed to teenage girls. Adhikari informed Republica that since the landslides have caused more damage in Kalikot, Jumla and Mugu of Karnali, assistance has been provided at the request of the District Disaster Management Committee.

Although there was an initiative to provide immediate assistance to the landslide victims, there was a delay due to festivals such as Dashain, Tihar and general elections. However, the relief has reached the homes of the victims according to the Mayor of Tilagupha, Shankar Upadhyay.

 
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