Sankhuwasabha, September 2:

At least 40 households have been displaced from Sisuwa and Tamku VDCs in the northern part of Sankhuwasabah district due to a landslide.

Property worth over Rs 30 million was also damaged in the landslide in Ward No 5 and 6 of Sisuwa VDC and in Ward no 8 and 6 of Tamku VDC, locals said.

Eleven families of Ward No 8 and 6 in Tamku and 29 families in Sisuwa VDC have been displaced due to the landslide, said Surya Prasad Upadhyay, DSP at the Sankhuwasabha District Police Office. He said that efforts were underway to relocate the displaced families.

Some displaced families have been taking shelter in their relatives’ houses in the adjoining villages, the police said. Locals have been helping the police in rescuing the victims from the landslide-affected areas.

“Nine members of my family have been displaced after the landslide swept away my house and land,” said a victim, Bir Bahadur Rai, of Sisuwa-5. He added that the landslide damaged property worth Rs 10 lakh of his family. Landslides also swept away cardamom crop planted in more than 1,000 ropanis of land, the police said.

Jas Bahadur Limbu and Chandra Bhattarai of Nundhaki-1 have suffered losses worth Rs 5 lakh after the landslides swept away their cardamom fields, the police said.

Another landslide swept away land belonging to Chhabilal Gurung, Amrit Subedi and Ghanshyam Budhathoki of Khandbari-2.

Similarly, landslides caused damages to land and property in Pawakhola, Bala, Mantewa, Hatiya, Makalu and Nundhaki VDCs, locals said.

Meanwhile, some children have been suffering from different diseases with their patents facing food shortage.

With nothing left to eat in the villages, the displaced are planning to go to Khandbari, the district headquarters, to demand relief, the Tamku Police Post said, adding that some displaced have been living in the open.

Over 250 members of 40 families have not received any relief yet, the victims said.

Landslides are still occurring in more than 25 places in Sisuwa and Tamka VDCs, according to locals.