Siraha, January 12

Cold wave conditions that have swept the plains for the past three weeks continue to affect normal life in Siraha. The impoverished people have been hit the hardest.

Hem Kumar Sadaya, 29, of Balakawa in Gol Bazaar Municipality-11 works at a brick kiln near his home. But ever since the temperature plummeted, he hasn’t gone to work, which has further made it hard for him to feed his family.

“As cold wave conditions still persist, we can’t go out of home,” he said, wondering how he would provide for his family if the weather doesn’t improve.

Fifty-five-year-old Jamuni Sadaya Dain of the same village is keeping himself warm by lighting fire all day long these days. “I have been unable to go to work ever since the cold wave started. If weather conditions do not improve, I won’t be able to provide for my family any longer,” he said. Worse is the condition of Dewani Sadaya’s family. A daily-wage labourer, she also has to look after her disabled husband.

Similar is the plight of every family in the Sadaya settlement that comprises around 100 households. The adverse weather conditions have prevented them from going to work to earn their livelihood. There are around 125,000 Dalit households in the district. However, Sadaya community is the one of most impoverished.