Kathmandu. At this time, somewhere there is the excitement of Dashain, somewhere there is the joy of reunion, and somewhere the pain of separation. Somewhere the relatives who have gone abroad are returning home, somewhere they are on a journey to go abroad, leaving their native places. Some houses and courtyards have been decorated to welcome Dashain, while some houses have been swept away by the Bhotekoshi flood of August 10.
While the excitement of Dashain has completely engulfed the village, the atmosphere of Palungtar Municipality-5 of Gorkha is different. There is no hustle and bustle of Dashain like in the past years, nor is there any excitement of meeting relatives. Dashain has come to the village, but there is no excitement of Dashain. Dashain, which came with happiness and excitement in the past, has come this year with pain.
On August 23, the flood in Bhotekoshi made 30 neighbors disappear at once. Since then, the happiness of the village has also been swept away with the same flood. Neither the body nor the breath was found. The relatives have also made a statue of Kush and performed the last rites.
On August 26, at around 4:30 am, a bus (Ga 2 Kha 1152) of Prithvi Yatayat carrying 36 passengers from Palungtar Municipality-5 had left for Gosaikunda Yatra of Rasuwa. The family members of the passengers who had gone on a religious pilgrimage were expected to return safely, but the flood in Bhotekoshi had disrupted the life of 30 people.
Driver Sagar Devkota, who had set out with the goal of providing safe travel to 36 people of the village, could not be safe. Since that day, Dussehra has added more pain to his father Tikaram Devkota. Tikaram lost not only his son but also his wife Rammaya Devkota. “We had that one car. The son used to drive it himself. The flood also swept away his son and wife, who had left in the morning. I lost other relatives,” he says, “Since the beginning of this Dashain, the memories of the past are more and more shaken. There is excitement in others’ houses, there is tension in our house. I think it will end sometime.” Now there is an old father in his 80s, a daughter in a sluggish mood, daughter-in-law and a five-year-old granddaughter. The family used to meet the expenses of the son.TAG_OPEN_div_78 Right now, there is uncertainty about how to make a living.
Father Ramhari and mother Kamala Bhotekoshi, who walked together in every ups and downs of life, weaving happiness and sorrow in the same basket, have not been able to tear up their eyes ever since the floods swept through the floods. Sagar of the same village, who was in a hurry to come from abroad and could go to the village to celebrate Dashain with his parents, could never get tika from his parents’ hands again.
Sagar, who feels that Dussehra has come after his mother painted the house with red clay, and his father arranged for a goat for Dashain, is no longer with his parents. He has only memories, no parents. But I don’t want to believe this reality. Still, I can’t stop worrying if my parents will come back. “My parents, who lived as each other’s shadows all their lives, did not like to leave anyone alone even when they were gone. They made the last truth of their own life that they were living together and together even when they died,” he wrote on social media.TAG_OPEN_div_74
Sagar expresses his heart that the love that grew up in the same courtyard, the relationship cooked in the same stove and the heartbeat that was connected for years did not separate even after reaching his last breath. “When the body of the mother and the body of the father’s kush are kept in the same pyre and lit the funeral pyre, the fire that is disappearing in the five elements makes not only the body immortal, but also their unwavering love and dedication,” he says.
The pain of losing the closeness of the father and the warm lap of the mother at the same time is like falling a mountain for the children. With the sudden collapse of both the main pillar of the house and the mine of Mamata, Sagar feels that the whole world is empty. “In the past, when Dashain came, there used to be a different vibe in the village. Those who had gone abroad used to return home, relatives would gather, meet and enjoy, but this year there is no enthusiasm of Dashain in the village,” said Deepak Pandey, ward chairman of Palungtar Municipality-5. According to him, there were 36 passengers in the vehicle. Of them, six have come in contact safely while 30 are still missing. Among them, Kamala Devkota, Kedar Pandit, Sujata Kaudal, Tara Ranabhat and Sumi Kumal have been identified.
Pandey said that the village is in mourning after 30 of his neighbors went missing in the floods of Bhotekoshi. Even though it is the time of festivals, no one has been able to rejoice. While the hustle and bustle of Dashain is increasing in other villages, the families here are waiting for their people to return. Since then, the stove has been lit in some houses in the village, but there has been no happiness in the heart.TAG_OPEN_div_68
The village is busy shopping for the necessities for Dashain, cleaning the house, welcoming relatives and preparing to celebrate the festival with the family. “When there is a crowd of people returning home during Dashain, here they are deceived that their loved ones will return from somewhere. Although the festival shares the happiness of closeness and reunion with the family, this time has become a time to remind some of the pain,” Pandey says.
Dashain is taken as an opportunity to eat sweet dishes, apply tika and jamara, meet family and relatives, share sorrows and joys and forget the fatigue of the year, but this time for those who lost their relatives due to the Bhotekoshi floods, it seems that Dashain should not have come.
Waiting for death registration
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The devastating floods in Bhotekoshi swept away someone’s house, someone’s village was destroyed. Some lost their relatives, some even the basis of their lives. There is no possibility of returning to the world that was snatched away by the floods, but Tikaram feels that the legal identity of the relatives who died or disappeared in the floods would have been finalized now. “Sons and wives will not come back now. To make the lives of the survivors easier, the state should have given them a death certificate now. I hope they will get insurance and other facilities,” he says.
Sagar Devkota says that the affected families have been forced to face double pain due to the lack of easy process of death registration, legal claims, relief and compensation of the parents who died or disappeared in the floods. On the one hand, there is the unbearable pain of losing a loved one, and on the other hand, there is another compulsion to wander for relief and facilities due to lack of legal documents. “We are suffering more as the legal process for official death registration, entitlement, compensation and relief of the people who died or disappeared in the floods has not been resolved,” says Sagar.TAG_OPEN_div_58
Relief, compensation, property rights and family rights are also linked to the death registration certificate. However, the victims complain that the family members have not been able to avail the services that they should have received in normal circumstances due to the lack of clarity on the legal status of the disappeared persons. They said that it was difficult to get the relief amount announced by the Gandaki Province government in the absence of the death registration certificate and legal documents related to disappearance. Ward Chairman Pandey said that the claim of the property in the name of the deceased, the process related to bank and insurance and the services and facilities provided by other government agencies have also been obstructed.
Still Remains Mental Panic
{{TAG_OPEN_div_52} The co-driver of the vehicle that day was Niraj Bhandari of Siranchowk Rural Municipality, Gorkha. The vehicle, which left before dawn in the morning, stopped for breakfast in Galchi and proceeded towards Nuwakot. While in Galchi, we heard that there was a flood from Rasuwa, but no one knew that such a catastrophe would happen.
The passengers were talking to each other. The sun was shining outside. The Trishuli river also seemed to be flowing slowly at its own pace as usual. When we reached a place called Buffalo in Nuwakot, someone suddenly said, “Flood is coming, let’s run.” But no one took that sound seriously. The atmosphere, which had been normal for a few moments, suddenly changed. The sound of thunder and rumbling was heard. That sound was not normal. It was as if it was the last signal given by nature before a big catastrophe came.
“Stop the car, stop the car!”
Suddenly there was a loud noise.
} Co-driver Neeraj, who was sitting near the door, saw a big flood wave mixed with mud, stones and mud coming from above. When he ran upstairs and looked down, he saw the car flowing.
TAG_OPEN_div_44Neeraj was in a position to do something even if he wanted to. “It is very sad to remember that more than 30 people who came with me, including Sagar Dai, who loved me more than the happiness of being alive, were swept away by the flood,” says Neeraj. For the other survivors, Rabindra Devkota, Tulram Devkota, Baburam Devkota and Parbati Neupane, the memory of this incident is still scary.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्