Climate calamity: Flood displaced people want to return to Kagbeni

Namkya Gurung, a local of Kagbeni, spends a part of his day visiting the land where his house once stood before it was washed away by the raging waters of the Kagkhola River.

Namkya is preparing the ground to rebuild his home on the very land that his forefathers had bequeathed to him years ago. He told Apex that he was seeking loans to build a new house on the land.

Since the floods, he has been taking shelter in his brother’s house. His heart remains rooted in this place, bound by the deep ties to his ancestral property that transcend mere monetary value.

A dry landslide in the Jhong region of Mustang swelled the Kagkhola River and swept away houses in the Kagbeni village which sits on the confluence of the Kagkhola and Kaligandaki rivers. Timely warnings helped residents to evacuate the village before the floods arrived, but the financial and physical destruction was immense. Some houses were swept away and many others left partially damaged.

Due to greenhouse gas emissions from industrialized nations, the earth’s atmosphere has been increasingly warming over the years and decades, leading to rapid and unprecedented climate change. The adverse impacts of this global phenomenon are evident in the Himalayan regions like Mustang. Experts attribute last year’s flooding in Kagbeni as a consequence of these climatic changes. 

According to the Bar Agung Mukti Kshetra Rural Municipality, the flood completely destroyed a dozen houses and partially damaged 35 others, resulting in millions of rupees in losses, including damage to private and government buildings, schools, apple farms, and livestock. Despite the challenges, the resilience of the Kagbeni residents is evident as they are trying to reconstruct their homes and safeguard their land. They seem undeterred by the looming threat of future climate-induced calamities as their emotional attachment to the land runs deep. They remain hopeful of rebuilding their lives once the Kagkhola river is properly managed to prevent future overflows. 

“This is the only land plot I have. Where else can I go?” asked Namkya. 

Santu Gurung, another resident, has temporarily relocated his family to a nearby location. But he remains uneasy, not out of fear of the flood but due to the changing rainfall patterns in Mustang, which pose a threat to the traditional mud, stone, and wood houses of the region. Tsering, Santu Gurung’s younger daughter, expresses her confusion over the increased rainfall in recent years. Shantu is hopeful of getting back to his old settlement in Kagbeni soon.

“I am sure they will be able to reclaim the flooded land,” Shantu said. “Then we will return to Kagbeni and build our house.”

While some flood victims have been physically displaced, their emotional ties to the land remain unbroken. They are determined to reclaim their land bank. That is why they are erecting stone walls on their land and repairing their damaged houses, even at the cost of significant financial investment. Bhim Gurung, for instance, is investing more than Rs 2.5m to rebuild his three-story cemented house, while his family lives in a rented accommodation nearby.

Thombo Gurung, another local, is saddened by the loss of his three houses to the Kagkhola flood. “We had started a good business here and were working to promote Kagbeni as a tourist destination,” Thombo said. “But floods washed away everything.”

The displaced flood victims, however, are hopeful of returning to Kagbeni soon. But their hopes of return depend on the government's response and assurances for their settlement.

“We have not received any formal response from the federal and provincial governments even though it has been a long time since we placed our demands,” Karma Gyacho Gurung, the chairperson of Ward-4 of Baragung Muktichhetra Rural Municipality.