Displaced earthquake victims of Buma and Basimpa villages are having sleepless nights as authorities ordered them to vacate the forest land of Suspakshyamawati VDC in Dolakha district they are taking refuge in. 

After the Panipokari Community Forest pressured quake survivors to leave 

the forest area, 84 Thami households have been left in lurch. 

“We have no place to go as our houses were destroyed 

in the April 25 earthquake,” said Bhim Thami, a quake survivor. 

The District Disaster Management Committee had relocated those households in the forest land after the landslides triggered by the quake threatened the villagers. 

The quake survivors have been passing days by searching edible roots and collecting firewood in the forest. Fifty-eight-year-old Bhola Thami said they have been staying in temporary makeshift shelters in cold. 

The majority of the displaced are senior citizens, kids, disabled and post 

partum women. Many of them are suffering from the cold related ailments, he explained.

Sixty-six-year-old Budha-maya Thami said they make bonfire to keep themselves warm every night. 

“However, our condition is very pitiable as we cannot sleep well,” she said. 

According to the Panipokari Community Forest, they have provided land for the quake victims temporarily. But the displaced families are not in a position to return to their quake-ravaged settlements which is under landslide threats. 

“Our lands have developed fissures after the quake,” said Cheli Thami, 48, urging the government to manage land for them. 

The local authorities have not decided to relocate the quake-affected Thami households yet. “We have decided to inspect their quake-ravaged settlements at first,” said Chief District Officer Devendra Lamichhane. 

n Around 84 families displaced from Buma and Basimpa villages are taking refuge in the forest land of Suspakshyamawati VDC in Dolakha district. POST PHOTO: RAJENDRA MANANDHAR