ROLPA, Jan 7: The luxury of warm blankets in cold winter nights is a distant dream for those who are struggling to make ends meet.

Gopal Sunar, 60, his brother Prasad Sunar, 59, and sister Ashra Sunar, 58, who live in a small hut at Reugha village near the district headquarters of Rolpa, are having a hard time spending the freezing cold winter nights due to lack of warm clothes and blankets.

The three are physically challenged since birth, and are hardly able to meet their basic needs like food and clothing due to extreme poverty. 

The story of a Thapa family in nearby Humja village is no different. 

The family of Kami Thapa and Ruiche Thapa too are struggling to keep themselves alive this winter. Ruiche's wife, whose feet were burnt by fire some days ago, died on Sunday due to lack of treatment and extreme cold.

Like these two families, there are many households near the district headquarters who haven't got any attention from the local government despite their pitiable condition. 

The government claims it has identified the poor to distribute IDs and provide support but the people living in abject poverty are still deprived of basic rights.

Their hopes from the newly-elected local representatives have been all but shattered as they seem to be no different than the previous authorities. 

After learning about the pathetic condition of both Sunar and Thapa families, the locals of Reugha took the initiative to provided them with blankets and wood with the support from 'Satprayash Media Group' under its 'Koshis' campaign. 

Kul Bahadhur Dangi, a campaigner, said, “After seeing their pitiful condition, we were able to gather blankets and wood for them by collecting some amount.”

 
• Winter
 
• Abject_Poverty
 
• Blankets
 
• Basic_rights