When a massive landslide buried 14 people and five vehicles on the Mechi highway Sunday night, three other roads that connect Kanyam, Jirmale and Kolbung VDCs to the highway were also simultaneously damaged by several other landslides. [break]Although other landslides were overshadowed by the one that occurred on the highway, their effects now seem heavy.
Local farmers in Kanyam VDC have not been able to transport green tea leaves since Monday after the only access road to the highway was blocked by landslides the previous night. The production of green tea leaves in Jirmale and Kolbung VDC is quite insignificant, but the farmers in these two VDCs also had to suffer. They have not been able to transport their milk and other milk products to the market since last Monday following the landslides.
“Around 1500 kilos of green tea leaves and hundreds of liters of milk are going to waste,” said Shree Kharel, a farmer in Kolbung VDC-1. “Our villages have been virtually cut off.” Although the District Development Office (DDO) of Ilam and the Road Division Office, Ilam said they will rebuild the damaged roads, an immediate end to the farmers´ woes is nowhere in sight.
Sunday´s landslides have also damaged some drinking water projects and houses in Ilam. According to a report released by the Ilam DDC, Harkati Drinking Water Project and Chindepani Drinking Water Project have been affected by the landslide. Bhoj Kumar Adhikari, Kanyam VDC secretary, said locals of ward numbers 3, 4, 5 and 7 of Kanyam have been affected after landslide swept away pipelines of Harkate Drinking Water Project.
In Jirmale VDC, the locals have been forced to spend nights in darkness after Sunday´s landslides toppled electricity poles. Home Secretary Nabin Ghimire, who visited the landslide-affected villages on Friday, said that the government will provide compensation for other damages caused by the landslides.
On Saturday, Home Minister Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar is scheduled to visit Ilam to distribute Rs 100,000 each to the victims of Sunday´s landslide. Two of the total 14 people swept away by the landslide on Sunday are still missing.
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