National
Rapti victims rely on jobs in India
The people displaced by the Rapti river flood in Banke two years ago have at least one family member who works in India.Thakur Singh Tharu
The people displaced by the Rapti river flood in Banke two years ago have at least one family member who works in India. As the government has not come up with any programmes to support the displaced families, the flood displaced people have been relying on the earnings made by their family members in India.
Rampheran Gupta, one of the flood victims from Holiya, said many people from Holiya, Narainpur, Matehiya, Gangapur, Bhojbhagawanpur Matehani, Sonbarsha and Gangapur VDCs left for India after there was no sign of government help for months.
“It’s been two years since the flood, but we haven’t received anything. Working in India was the only way to sustain our families,” Gupta said.
Baldev Prasad Tiwari, secretary of Holiya VDC, said there are around 150 flood displaced families in Holiya alone, and most of their adult male members work menial jobs in India.
“The government has not made any serious effort to rehabilitate these people. They’re living a miserable life,” Tiwari said.
District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) puts the number of flood displaced families in Banke at 11,000. Most of these families are still living under tattered plastic shelters and huts.
Ramsundar Bahun, a flood victim from Tepariya village, said they cannot even grow crops because the flood has either eroded their land or rendered them uncultivable.
“Going to India was the only way to keep our women and children alive. Even elderly men are going to India in the recent times,” Bahun said.
The coordinator of the DDMC, Homnath Bhusal, said they need at least Rs 350 million to resettle the flood victims in the district, but the government has only released Rs 1.5 million till date.