People of Kerauja, one of the worst earthquake hit villages in Gorkha, have requested the authorities to provide them a space to build their homes. 

About two dozen villagers visited the district headquarters, Gorkha Bazaar, on Tuesday to ask the local administration to arrange a safe location for them to set up their settlement. 

“Our old settlement has come under landslide threats after the earthquake. We cannot live there anymore,” said Aashman Gurung of Kerauja-2. 

The villagers have proposed that the authorities should immediately mobilise geologists to find a safe place for their settlement.

Distributing housing aid alone will not solve our problem, the former VDC chairman, Suk Bahadur Gurung, said.  

“We are even ready to return the Rs 50,000 provided by the government. What should we do with the money when we have no land to build our homes?” 

About 450 families were displaced from the village due to the landslides triggered by the 2015 April earthquake. They have been living in a farmland near the settlement which too is under a landslide threat. In July this year, the place was hit by multiple landslides, burying more than 13 temporary shelters and forcing around 100 families to take shelter in a forestland.

Chief District Officer Narayan Prasad Bhatta said after listening to the plight of Kerauja villagers, he has instructed the chief of the Building Division Office to inspect the situation of the village. “First, we must determine whether the settlement is still safe for living. If not, they will be relocated,” he said.