SIRAHA: Almost every winter, cold-wave hits various parts of the terai making everyday activities very challenging for the inhabitants. Musahars residing in Sadaya Basti of Golbazar municipality are no exception to this yearly phenomenon as they have been hit hard by the cold wave this year too.

As winter advances, as many as 40 families residing in Sadaya Basti (settlement) near Ghumrikhola have been affected by the biting cold and thick fog as mercury dips in the region. Laldev Sadaya lives with his wife and three daughters in a small hut with a bed made of hay straws and no proper quilts to keep his family adequately warm from braving freezing temperature. 'After coming back home after a tiring day at work, I mostly spend rest of the night around fire to stay warm', said Laldev. Budhani Sadaya, 45, is a sole breadwinner of her family of five. 'I can't afford to make a house nor do I have enough money to buy warm clothes to wear', she said. 'We spend all our hard-earned money on our childrens' education', said Badri Sadaya,65, another resident of the basti. The habitants who indulge in farming as a means of livelihood, collect woods from a nearby forest to make fire. Settlements around Sadaya Basti are growing but their living conditions are perhaps the same as it used to be decades ago. 'Politicians who made promises during elections have never made a point to show any concern or to come back to see how we are surviving. We are well aware of the fact that we are just their vote banks', lamented Hemkumar Sadaya, 31. 'Elderly and children are suffering the most due to the cold and there is not much that we can really do,' he added. There are 400 different villages in Siraha district with a population of about 50,000 out of which 18% are landless, and many are left with no proper record of land registration. The Musahars in this settlement continue to suffer due to adverse weather and poor economic condition as these factors make it difficult for them to sustain their already-difficult livelihoods during this trying season. (Translated by Madhavi Marasini)