Devastating landslides leave Nayagaun locals homeless, hopeless

Panauti: Ganesh Dahal sat on the debris of his collapsed house in Nayagaun, Panauti-2, speechless and in tears. After a while, he managed to ask through his grief, “Where will we go now?”

The 2015 earthquakes had already damaged Dahal’s house. He had somehow rebuilt it using government aid and loans. But the late September’s floods and landslides did not spare even that. Worse still, the landslide claimed the lives of his two-month-old granddaughter Prinsa and daughter-in-law Gopini. With earthquakes and now landslides repeatedly destroying his home and family, Dahal wonders if they need to abandon their village entirely. 

“Both my sons are insisting that we should leave this place and move elsewhere,” Dahal told ApEx. “But where else can we go? How will we survive?”

A village in mourning

Located southeast of Kathmandu, Nayagaun in Panauti-2 is in deep mourning. Dozens of houses have collapsed, many are cracked and residents have been forced to seek shelter with relatives or in rented rooms.  

Rain started falling on the night of Sept 26 and continued relentlessly for three days. Muddy water began flowing in streams and rivulets. On the morning of Sept 28, landslides began occurring in multiple locations across Nayagaun, swallowing homes and livestock. Twenty people lost their lives to landslides and floods in the Panauti Municipality alone. Locals now refer to September 28 as ‘the black day’. 

Ram Sharan Bhandari, the mayor of Panauti Municipality, said nearly 500 houses were completely destroyed. Over 2,000 livestock were buried. 

After the big loss of life and property, the government has declared this area a disaster-hit zone. The Panauti Municipality has appealed for support to rehabilitate displaced families and reconstruct damaged infrastructure.

Living in terror

Panauti-2 is where the Roshi River originates. The ward, with a population of about 4,500, now looks like ruins in many areas. Houses in upper areas are either collapsed or cracked. The ground has deep fissures. Those still living in cracked houses are in constant fear.

The landslides and floods destroyed homes and agricultural fields of many villagers, damaged the BP Highway, and completely destroyed 60 houses in Nayagaun alone. Ward-2 of Panauti Municipality is among the most affected areas.

“There isn’t a single settlement untouched by landslides. All villagers are affected. Houses are at risk and uninhabitable,” says Ward Chairperson of Panauti-2 Purushottam Adhikari. “Even houses that survived the floods and landslides are damaged,” Adhikari, 60, said. “In my lifetime, I had never witnessed such intense and continuous rainfall before this.”

While the 2015 earthquakes had devastated Nayagaun in Panauti-2, it had not caused ground fissures even though houses fell. The landslides, however, have left land deeply cracked. Dozens of landslides have blocked roads. Water pipes are broken, leaving the settlement without drinking water. Families who lost loved ones are in mourning. Some lost their cattle sheds. 

According to Ward Chairperson Adhikari, three people from the ward died after being buried by landslides. Thirty-five goats, nine buffaloes and seven cows were buried. “The landslide buried the livestock along with their sheds. We still haven’t been able to retrieve them,” said Adhikari. 

Suman Acharya, 29, recounts that terrifying morning. “When we woke up, the landslide had already taken away our courtyard. We all hurried to safety. I was carrying my 20-day-old son,” Acharya said as his voice choked. “Shortly after we left, another landslide swept our house. If we had delayed even a little, we would have all been buried together.”

The young want to leave

After houses and land developed cracks, young people are urging their parents to leave the village. However, elderly residents are reluctant to immediately abandon their ancestral land. For villagers whose main occupation is agriculture, staying in Nayagaun is no longer feasible. But questions like “Where to go?” and “What to do?” leave them paralyzed with indecision.

Those affected by floods and landslides want to relocate, but they face difficult questions: “How long can we stay in rented rooms? We don’t have land elsewhere to build houses. We can’t afford to buy land and build new houses. What should we do now?”

Ward Chairperson Adhikari led initial rescue efforts after the floods and landslides. Immediate arrangements were made for food and bedding. Locals recall how he went door-to-door carrying noodles and beaten rice, clearing landslide-blocked roads along the way. “We asked for help from acquaintances and  social workers. We distributed solar lights worth Rs 300,000 to villagers living in darkness. Despite limited resources, we distributed immediate relief including food,” said Adhikari. “The flood and landslide victims are demanding relocation to an integrated settlement. We’re hoping for support from provincial and federal governments for sustainable rehabilitation. Villagers cannot live safely in their homes anymore.”

The government has issued the Disaster Victim Rescue and Relief (Seventh Amendment) Standards, 2020 for the rescue and relief of disaster victims. The standards state: “The federal, provincial and local levels must make necessary arrangements for the study, research, planning and programming, budget and resource management to identify settlements at risk and implement appropriate measures such as settlement protection and relocation. Programs must be implemented to reduce the risk to such settlements.”

Crushers, quarries blamed

The Roshi River area is dotted with unregulated stone quarries and crusher industries. Before the disaster, excavators and large trucks operated freely throughout the river area. The noise of dozers and tipper trucks operating at night made it difficult for residents to sleep.

Dust and soil from the quarries, which were dumped into the river, were gradually filling the river up. Continuous rainfall changed the course of the Roshi River, causing it to enter settlements. Additionally, experts note that unplanned road expansion also contributed to triggering landslides.

Mayor Bhandari said excessive rainfall combined with stone quarries and crusher industries wreaked havoc on the settlements. Lawmaker Gokul Baskota also pointed to reckless stone quarrying and crusher operations as the main factors behind the need to relocate entire settlements.

Locals agree with Baskota's assessment. They are frustrated with the stone quarries and crusher industries run by influential individuals. Victims complain that they have been displaced due to the unrestricted operation of crusher industries and stone quarries.

“There is a stone quarry below Nayagaun. There also are crusher industries. The machines operating in the crusher industries have shaken the ground,” Baskota said. “Permission should never have been given to operate crusher industries. They are the main factor in destroying the settlement. We shouldn’t be tempted by revenue. Mining and water cannot coexist. We must protect water resources.”

Challenges in relocation

A month and a half ago, no one had imagined that they would have to abandon their homeland. Now, Nayagaun residents are ready to leave immediately if integrated settlements become available.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has said that it was developing procedures for rehabilitating those displaced by floods and landslides. As per preliminary assessments, nearly 200 families from Wards 1 and 2 of Panauti Municipality need relocation. Ward-2 alone has decided to allocate a budget of Rs 2.2m for disaster response.

“No concrete conclusions have been reached yet about how to proceed with the relocation process. There is still uncertainty. No government-owned land has been found here so far,” said ward chair Adhikari. “The local government alone cannot handle this. Provincial and federal governments must also show concern and interest. They must help.”

Lawmaker Baskota also said that the state must provide land for those who have lost their homes and property. “The government must be accountable to citizens. The displaced must be relocated to safe settlements,” he said. “We need to find public land. Arrangements should be made within the same ward if possible, or in a convenient ward with integrated settlement planning. It should allow people to continue their traditional occupations.”