Flood-hit facing hardship in Nepalgunj

Nepalgunj, August 4:

Residents of Lonia Tole in Nepalgunj-6 have been leading a hard life.

After the monsoon broke, 20 houses collapsed in Lonia Tole of Nepalgunj alone. Residents of the locality said apart from destroying all their food grain the flood carried away all their utensils. When the flood water entered the locality, no one was able to salvage their possessions, they added.

The locality within Gharbari Tole situated in the heart of the town remained submerged for over a week. A resident Waris Ali said, “It is a case of depending on charity, otherwise we go hungry.”

Sitting on the road with his 12-member family, Ali said,”Our house collapsed, and the neighbours are in an equally pitiable state. Where to take shelter?”

Thirty-nine-year-old Anwar Ali of the same locality said over 20 houses collapsed. No one has come to take stock of our plight, he said.

The flood water has receded but nobody from the government’s side has come to take a look at our locality, he complained.

Lonia Tole residents complained that the Red Cross handed them a few plastic sheets, some beaten rice and coarse brown sugar.

They added that this was the sole relief they got and that they were somehow subsisting on it.

Most of the residents of Lonia Tole comprise people of the Koeri, Lonia and Bahena castes and eke out their days by daily wage labour.

Banke Red Cross chief Ishwar Regmi said they held a camp to distribute relief to the residents of Lonia Tole. Chief district officer Narendra Raj Sharma said the administration distributed relief material to last for five days and that it will also distribute cash to the flood victims.

He said that local people have still not apprised the administration of the damages they have suffered and it was because of this that relief distribution was lagging.