Palpa, May 30:

Tara Bahadur Thadamagar, who was ploughing his field a little away from his home after tea, heard a big explosion. When he looked at his home, he saw dust rising in the sky. An anxious Thadamagar raced to the spot and was stunned when he saw the ruins. The house and his family were gone in no time.

Thadamagar is trying to come to grips with the reality of the loss he has suffered in his old age. His voice shook as he said, “Why has God done this to me? It would have been better had I died and the rest of my family had survived.”

Nine persons, including Thadamagar’s son, daughter-in-law, brother and grandchildren, died in the bucket bomb blasts at Palpa’s Gothadi-3 Bhuteke village yesterday.

However, two of his kin —16-year-old Shobha Kumari and 10-year-old Debi — were safe as they were accompanying him.

Breaking into tears, Debi said, “My brother Dambar had promised to fund my studies.”

Thadamagar’s neighbour Man Bahadur had brought three bucket bombs from Hattilud near Bhutuke yesterday morning. These explosives are used by the villagers for blasting rocks during road construction.

Thadamagar’s daughter Shobha said the villagers were preparing to leave for road construction when the bucket bombs went off.

The blasts have traumatised the villagers.

Chairman of the road construction sub-committee and former chairman of Gothadi VDC, Rana

Bahadur Khamcha, however, claimed that explosives were not used for blasting rocks. Maoist area in-charge Raju Thapa said his party has initiated an investigation into the incident. Nepali Congress Palpa chairman Rajan Prasad Pant said, “The Maoists and the state are responsible for the blasts.”

CPN-UML Palpa district secretary Radha Krishna Kandel said the incident was a shocking one.

Those who died in the blasts were cremated this morning. Meanwhile, the Home Ministry has expressed sorrow over the killing of nine persons in the blasts and appealed to all to provide information in this regard, RSS reported.