A 60-year-old earthquake victim from Aaruarbang VDC in Gorkha died of cold on Friday night, taking the total number of cold-related deaths across the country this season to 20. Most of the deceased are earthquake victims who are living in temporary shelters.

The elderly who died on Friday has been identified as Lal Bahadur Baram of Aaruarbang-1.

“He was frozen to death,” Tek Bahadur Bhatta, a local teacher, told the Post over phone. He said the victim did not have warm clothes and bedding to beat the biting cold.  Baram had been living in the hut alone. “He (Baram) was fine. He went to the bed the previous night after taking his evening meal,” said Bhatta.

Inspector Rabiraj Thapaliya at Area Police Office in Aarughat, however, said that police were unaware about the incident.

At least seven earthquake displaced people are said to have died of cold-related disease at Thokarpa in Sindhupalchok district in the past three weeks. Hundreds of quake victims have been suffering from various ailments due to cold in various districts hit hard by the April 25 earthquake and powerful aftershocks.

Biting cold has been taking a toll on people in other parts of the country as well.

In Mugu, 26 community schools in the eastern Karan area of the district have been closed due to cold. Schools in Pulu, Kimri, Mugu, Dolphu and Magri VDCs have halted classes.

In Rukum and Salyan, number of people visiting hospitals with complaints of cold-related ailments has sharply gone up.

Locals from a dozen of VDCs in upper Rukum are suffering from pneumonia and fever in Rukum.

Rukum District Hospital informed that the flow of cold affected patients has increased of late. Around 100 patients suffering from cold-related ailments have been receiving treatment at different health facilities in the district. Meanwhile, almost all villagers in Sharada Municipality-7 in Salyan district have fallen

ill due to cold.

Lack of health facilities makes matters worse

GORKHA: Earthquake survivors in Gorkha, who have fallen ill due to severe cold, are at their wits’ end, as hospital and health post buildings that were destroyed by the April 25 earthquake are yet to be built.

Rudralal Shrestha, an asthma patient from Ghairung, said he is facing a hard time as the District Hospital does not have a building and he is being treated in a hut. The entire hospital is being run in makeshift shelters. “I will freeze to death if the situation continues,” he said.