The government had allocated Rs 70 million to construct permanent houses for the Rautes and replace their temporary sheds, according to Far Western Development Region Office.
However, 44 families of the underprivileged Raute community in Parshuram Municipality-4 could not resume the construction of their houses due to wood scarcity. The Rautes are still living nomad life following the tradition living style of their ancestors.
“We do not have proper cleanliness in temporary houses we presently live. As a result, our children frequently became ill with various diseases,” Shanti Raute, said. “We had hoped that the permanent house construction would change the situation, however, our hopes of living in a permanent house have been dashed off as the construction has been halted”, she added.
Collecting woods from forest has now been prohibited, creating scarcity of woods to further the construction of houses. “The Department of Urban Development has halted the house construction project. We are looking for ways to find woods,' says Prem Prasad Luitel, Chief District Officer (CDO) of the district.
“We have dreamed of living in a permanent house for the first time. However, it all seems shattered now,” said Birkh Bahadur Raute, 65, a local of Parshuram Municipality -4.
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