Bajura village cut off from rest of Nepal

BAJURA, AUGUST 11

Ajaytodki village in Ward 2 of Gaumul Rural Municipality in Bajura has been cut-off from the rest of the country for the past two days after the swollen Budhiganga River swept away a bailey bridge at Jadanga along the Sanfe-Martadi road. The sweeping away of the bridge has disconnected road network to headquarters Martadi.

A team from the rural municipality office was deployed for rescue, but it returned after failing to cross the river, said Bajura Deputy Superintendent of Police Tanka Prasad Bhattarai. A team led by rural municipality Vice-chair Sita Thapa, including police personnel, was sent to the village but had to return as they could not cross the raging local river this morning.

Local Ram Bahadur Budha said no one was able to reach the village. Bajura Chief District Officer Krishna Gaire said efforts were underway to arrange a helicopter to rescue the stranded villagers. Twenty families comprising 90 people reside in the village.

With their houses swept away or inundated, locals are forced to spend time in the open. DSP Bhattarai said the rescue team could not reach the village as due to flood the water level in the river had continued to rise.

Food Right Network Bajura Chair Madanraj Jaishi stressed the need to provide food to the villagers via helicopter.

Rural Municipality Chair Hari Bahadur Rokaya said they had talked to the home minister and were hopeful that efforts to carry out rescue operations would go smoothly.

Bajura District Police Office stated that the swollen Budhiganga River had washed away five suspension bridges — three of Gaumul Rural Municipality and two of Badimalika Rural Municipality.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 12, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.