Explaining his plight, 48-year-old Satya Narayan Acharya of Tungathali VDC-6 said, "I braved the earthquake, escaping from my stone-roofed house, but I have no means to escape the hill looming just above my house." Ghorthali village, which sits with its over 100 households on a steep slope, is left with destroyed mud and stone homes and its inhabitants seeking the 'government relief' that they have heard about on radio.
"It sounded like a landslide at first and we moved to safer locations as this is a landslide prone area," said Bal Bahadur Thami, 48, of the same village while building a temporary shelter near his destroyed house.
The same village had witnessed deadly landslides in 2044 BS that claimed about 100 lives with many injured and huge loss of property.
"My father had to suffer much to recover the loss at the time and I don't know how I shall overcome the same fate," he said adding, "The earthquake has shaken our village again and I am worried about the fast approaching rainy season."
Staying put amidst the dismal surroundings, Thami's 45 year old wife Chandra Maya said, "We are in a qunadry whether to rebuild our house in the same village or shift elsewhere." Rejecting his wife's proposal outright, Thami said, "How can we all of a sudden abandon the land owned by our fathers?"
Panchhi Thami, 35, of the same village has not enough courage to ponder her next move as her new home was totally destroyed by the deadly earthquake. She built her home in a small space with a loan of Rs 200,000 from her relatives in her maternal village at Latu, Chokuti VDC. Her tuberculosis-affected husband Gopal has stopped working, leaving all family responsibility on her shoulders.
"I have fears concerning the loan, family expenses and the approaching rainy season," she said while resting her water-filled jar on the ground. With the deadly quake, the tap water has also stopped flowing, making them walk hours to fetch drinking water.
"How should I manage collecting the water and securing the government relief if it is distributed," she lamented.
The local people on Saturday walked six hours to reach the nearest but also devastated town of Barhabise, but returned with empty hands as the relief packages were already distributed to villagers nearest to Barhabise .
A landslide from quake-loosened slopes crashed into the neck of the village, killing Purnima Thami while she was foraging grass for her cattle.
The minor landslide in the village has also highlighted concerns over the earthquake combined with a series of powerful aftershocks leaving the hillside residences in danger.
"Five villagers could not escape the earthquake and died, but we are now left to either choose the government's plan to relocate the villagers or to stay in the same village at risk to our lives," Dokpa Thapa, 45, of the same village said.
Local authorities have assured the villagers that they would think over their demands once the situation stabalises.
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