Gorkha. The floods that occurred on October 9 have caused a huge damage to the fish stream located in Dharche Rural Municipality-5 in Gor kha. Local traders have been forced to bear the loss of crores of rupees after the floods swept away houses, godowns and business structures. The locals displaced by the floods have demanded immediate relief from the government for the construction of safe settlements and river control.

According to Lal Prasad Gurung, a local businessman of Machhakhola, the flood has damaged his godown worth about two crore rupees. He has been in financial crisis after the flood swept away his property at once.

’15-20 We had invested some money in the business. Now everything has been reduced to zero. “, Gurung said, “We have not done anything intentionally. Now we are worried about how to get up again. I wish the government had helped. ’

According to him, Dhan Kumar Gurung, another businessman of Machhakhola, has suffered a loss of around Rs 5 to 60 million. Similarly, according to the locals, the godown of Gurung, one of the big traders of Machhakhola, has been damaged to the tune of Rs 100 million. The details of the damage are yet to be confirmed by the concerned authorities.

The floods have also affected the local settlements. According to Gurung, three to four houses have been swept away and some families have been displaced. The locals who lost their homes are now living in the shelter of their neighbours and relatives.

Gurung said that before the floods, he received a call from the upper area to leave the settlement and flee. After getting information about the risk of floods, they left the house wearing only slippers. He said that they had to run away to save their lives and could not even know how their warehouse and goods were swept away.

‘We called and told to run away. We didn’t even know how the goods were swept away. ‘, he said.

Locals who stayed at their relatives’ houses in the initial days after the floods returned to their homes after one or two days . Gurung said that they had to return home due to the fear of risk as it would be difficult to stay in others’ houses for a long time and there was no immediate arrangement to stay elsewhere.

The flood has also completely damaged the bridge from Machhakhola to Dharche Kerauja of Dharche{{{} Rural Municipality. Gurung said that there was talk of constructing a suspension bridge immediately after Dashain-Tihar for the reconstruction of the bridge. However, the official decision of the bridge construction and the time for the start of the work are yet to be confirmed by the concerned authorities.

Although the rural municipality has started providing relief to the flood-affected people, priority has been given to the families who lost their homes immediately and there is confusion about the damage caused to the business godowns. He said that he has not received any clear assurance from the rural municipality about what kind of help the businessmen will get. He urged the government not only to provide relief but also to make arrangements to protect them from such disasters in the future. He demanded that the settlements in the lower areas of Machhakhola should be shifted to safer places if necessary or a gabion wall should be constructed to control the river.

‘More than relief, we need courage and a basis to be safe. It would have been better if we could make the settlement feel safe by installing a gabion wall. ‘, Gurung said.

Locals who lost their homes and business due to the floods are now demanding long-term rehabilitation, proper assessment of the damage, assistance for resumption of business and river control. According to them, it will be more difficult to recover from the economic and social damage caused by the floods if safe settlements and livelihood bases are not built immediately. See the rest of the picture: