Bajura, July 6

Locals at Kawadi of Himali Rural Municipality in Bajura district are forced to spend sleepless nights due to fear of landslides.

A local, Bache Bhandari, said the villagers could not sleep at night fearing a landslide could strike them anytime “As it rains, the fear of landslide starts haunting us” he said.

According to him, the villagers come out of their house and stay in the open until it stops raining. During monsoon, this becomes a routine for them as they have no other places to go.

Not only in Kawadi but dozens of other settlement areas in Bajura are at high risk of landslides. The Bajura district administration office said then VDCs, including Bahrabisa, Badhu, Kolti, Jagannath, Gudukhati, Kuldevmandau, Kailashmandau, Brahmatola, Aantichaur, Rugin, Sappata, were all at risk of landslides.

The nearby swollen Budhiganga and Gaigard rivers have started eroding land.

Meanwhile, vehicular movement has been obstructed due to landslips at various locations in the district. The Sanphebagar-Martadi road-section has been obstructed since the last four days.

Debendra Lamichhane, a government officer, said that the road section could not be opened due to recurrent landslides.

Similarly, the Martadi-Kolti stretch also remained affected since last Saturday following multiple landslips along the road since the last few days.