Lumle mourns its landslide dead

LUMLE (Kaski), August 5: Lumle village in Kaski district has lost its charm and beauty since last Wednesday. The entire village is now mourning the death of 27 of its inhabitants in a devastating landslide.

Across Kaski, the landslide death toll has reached 37 -- 27 in Lumle, eight in Bhadaure and two in Dhikur Pokhari VDC. Two persons - one from Lumle and another from Dhikur Pokhari - are still missing, according to police. Locals, however, believe the missing are also dead.Bhaktiram Devkota, a local elderly, gathered all the locals on Wednesday to mourn the deceased and pray for their departed souls.

As the function was underway, a foul stench of animal carcasses wafted toward the gathering. Nine buffalos, six oxen, three goats and many chickens had also perished in the landslide.

Those attending the function covered up their noses till it was over. They consider themselves the lucky ones. Many of them had not even been able to pull out their valuables from their collapsed houses.

Although Lumle gets plenty of rainfall, it did not rain during the function Wednesday. Everyone sobbed and tears streamed down their cheeks while they offered flowers at the images of the deceased.

Lumle locals had never imagined that a landslide would snatch away their near and dear ones. "I have turned 70 but I've never seen such a landslide before," Bhakti Ram told Republica.

A study on the Impact of the Pokhara-Baglung Highway construction carried out by the University of Austria, Vienna in 1995 had found that the topography was so weak that the land could be easily swept away.

The locals have started offering their own reasons for the landslide. Some argue that a water tank with a capacity of over 30,000 liters had burst and triggered the catastrophy.

Many also concluded that a lack of proper outlets for rainwater was responsible. "Earlier, rainwater used to mix into the local stream, but it was blocked during the landslide," said Narayan Devkota, a school teacher.

According to locals, they had carried out rescue operations throughout last Wednesday night. One of the rescuers, Bishnu Thapa, 38, told Republica that the village was considered to be the safest for human settlement.

"Where will we go now?" she asked. Lumle after the landslide remains unsafe for human habitation.

"There is no land now for settlement or cultivation. We feel suspended between life and death," said another woman, Kamala Devkota, 35, with a baby daughter in her lap.

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