Amid such humanitarian acts from the political figures, I once had an opportunity to spend three days with former Prime Minister and senior UCPN (Maoist) leader Baburam Bhattarai in various VDCs of the worst-hit Gorkha district. With Bhattarai, I travelled through Khoplang, Laprak, Barpark (the epicenter of the Great Earthquake) and many other VDCs of the district. I observed that the leader Bhattarai did not only visit the affected areas but also contributed his labour for resuming normal life of earthquake victims.

Leader Bhattarai interacted with locals and advised them not to panic in this situation. He also suggested them to live in collective settlements rather than in scattered ones. He also advised the local folks to help each other instead of waiting for someone else to come and help them resume their life.

(Text and photos by Prakash Timilsena. Timilsena is a photographer with the post)