50-year-old Mahesh Mukhia of Manpur Bisunpurva, Madhavanarayan Municipality-4, Rautahat, was sitting in the corner of a house in the village on Wednesday. He has not yet been able to forget the terrible incident of arson on the afternoon of 28th Chait 2079. After the house was burnt to ashes, he took refuge in his relative's house.

The fire, which started from the house of neighbor Badri Bhagat, gradually reduced the houses of 21 people including Mahesh to ashes. Mahesh's 2 goats and 1 goat died in the fire. The fire came under control after about 2 hours.

'I can't even think of that unimaginable event . May such a calamity not befall anyone,' Mahesh says, 'watching the house turned into ashes . Clothes, food and nothing could be taken out. Now I am single and staying with my relatives.' 

That day, Mahesh and his family went to work in the fields. Vishal, the youngest son, was the only one at home. After knowing the incident, Vishal came out of the house to save his life. After the incident, Anju Jha, the president of Mandvi organization, provided assistance at the rate of 150,000 per family to the victim's family. But Mahesh lamented that it was not possible to build a house. Many victims of the fire have built houses. But Mahesh has not been able to due to financial crisis.  

Due to the wind that started in the morning, the fire could not be controlled and the damage was more. Although there was no human loss in the incident, most of the animals and food including clothes, cash and jewelry were burnt. About 2 hours after the fire, Varunyantra (fire engine) reached from Chandrapur and headquarters Gaur. During  fire brigade   Local social worker Paras Bhandari said that the damage was more because they could not reach.

'As soon as the fire started, the locals requested the police to send a warning device . As the headquarters are only in Gaur and Chandrapur municipalities, it could not reach in time,' he said, 'that is why more damage was done. If Varunyantra had reached in time, the damage would have been less.' 

Rupani Mukhia, a local girl, was slightly injured as her hand was burnt by the flames. Haresi Mukhiya, Maheshi Mukhiya, Indradev Bhagat, Dinkar Mukhiya, Upendra Mukhiya, Virendra Mukhiya Badri Bhagat, Surendra Mukhiya, Jitendra Mukhiya, Bikau Mukhiya, Jayakaran Mukhiya and 21 people's houses were destroyed by fire.  

On Wednesday morning, there was a sudden fire in a shop located in Garuda municipality-4 vegetable market. Garuda DSP Rajan Karki said that local businessman Sheikh Kamaudin's house, meat shop, Newalal Chaurasia's grocery shop, Jaymangal Chaudhary's house and snack shop, Rajendra Sah's house and snack shop, Sujit Kumar Chaudhary's house, snack shop, Satendra Thakur's house and iron shop, Krishna Das' concrete house and cloth shop were badly damaged in the fire.  

65-year-old wife Asima Khatun was burnt to death when Sujai Mian's wheat chaff caught fire on 13 Baisakh in Katharia-4 Balirampur tol. Khatun, who was working in the field nearby, was seriously injured when she saw the fire and extinguished it. Due to the fire, various parts of the body were seriously injured. He was taken to Kirtipur Hospital Kathmandu for further treatment and died during treatment.

30-year-old Devnarayan Pandit (Kumhal) of Chinnamasta Rural Municipality-4 Lalapatti in Saptari was preparing to go for foreign employment. When there was a fire on the morning of 6th of Chait, not only his house was burnt, but also the amount of loan taken for foreign employment. He took a loan of two lakh rupees from the Mahajan of the village.

Devnarayan is worried about how to go for foreign employment after burning the money. "It has not been decided how to pay off the loan, it is very difficult for the children to live under tarpaulin in the hot sun," he said.

He has a wife, three daughters and two sons. In the fire, eight houses including Rameshwar Pandit, Dhanraj Pandit and Jugeshwar Pandit were burnt. Two goats and one buffalo died in the fire. Furniture, dishes, mobile phones, gold and silver have also been burnt and there has been a loss of 18.5 lakh rupees. The rural municipality has not been able to provide them with anything except 25 kg of rice, 3 kg of dal and salt, 2 liters of cooking oil and 5 kg of beef, 4 kg of chiura and 1 piece of tripal per family as a relief. Devnarayan and other fire victims who have been living under Tripal for ten days have become miserable.

On the 20th of Baisakh, 72 houses were burnt down when a fire broke out in a village of Bishnu Rural Municipality-1 of Sarlahi, which is bordered with India. The houses of Biki Raut, Ramu Raut, Chandreshwar Raut, Shyamu Raut, Chaturbhuj Raut and others were burnt down. According to the police, after the gas cylinder of Shatrughan Raut's house exploded, the fire spread to the village.

Aaradhya Kumari, the three-year-old daughter of Joku Rai Yadav, died in a fire on 6th January 2078 in Bairginia village located in Fatuwa Vijayapur Municipality-1 of Rautahat. The incident took place after the children who were playing near the paddy piled by the local Ram Biswas Rai Yadav for alms on his empty land set fire to it . Sanjeev Sah's two-year-old son Rohit was injured in the incident.  

Every year in Terai-Madhesh, fires, floods, landslides, cold waves, deaths, displaced people, homeless people and their financial costs are increasing. For this, the victims are sitting with the question of when the day will come when the government will take interest. 

Whether it is rain or winter, many people lose their lives in Terai Madhesh due to fires, floods, and cold waves. Inland villages are more affected by natural calamities than cities. It has been found that there are more problems when lighting fires randomly to repel mosquitoes. 

Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh said that the government should take long-term measures to prevent the damage caused by natural calamities. "We have also come to a situation where we have to be aware. We light fires randomly during Chait-Vaisakh,'' he said, 'If we can't keep it even now, Madhesh will have to face the disaster.' 

Unorganized settlement is the main problem in Madheshe. Most of the houses are built in such a way that the air does not pass well. If there is a fire, there is no way to go. Locals build houses by mixing the roads so that even rickshaws cannot enter. MP Dev Prasad Timalsina said that until the government makes a poor-centered plan, there will be more damage in Terai due to flood, fire and winter. "It is necessary to come up with a plan that allows poor families to live comfortably," he said, "for this, a comprehensive discussion on how to reduce disasters is necessary." The government should pay attention to the time . Not just by showing interest after the incident.''  He said that the incidents of disasters have also increased due to neglect.

After the fire incident, it seems that the people there have a complicated situation of living and living. From where to raise the expenses for the lack of a house, where to manage the immediate weed and cotton, many such problems have arisen among the victims . Civil society leader Jagannath Keshari said that the reason for the increase in arson incidents in Madhesh should be found. ``There is a crowd of people who come with relief for two or four days . For some time, the victims feel relief,' he said, 'When the relief gradually diminishes, then there is no one to understand their pain . The victims suffer more.'  

During the time of the then chief district officer Krishna Bahadur Shahi, on 15th of Mansir 2079, the district administration office of Gaur called the mayors of all 18 municipalities and decided to arrange one/one warning system at all local levels due to the increasing number of fire incidents in the district. The heads of all 18 municipalities were invited to the meeting. In case of fire incident during Chaitra-Vaisakh period, there will be a shortage of fire extinguishers, and the municipality has agreed to purchase them together. A decision was made with the request to allocate budget for purchase in each municipality. 

Chief District Officer Vinod Kumar Khadka said that none of the municipalities have followed the decision of the administration. "In the past, the mayors have decided to purchase a wind turbine," he said, "I will follow up on why they did not follow through." I will call the chief administrative officer and ask.'

When there is a fire incident, the neighboring Bara and Sarlahi fire brigades must be called. There is no fire station in the district except Gaur and Chandrapur municipalities. It is the understanding of the administration that the local level has not shown any interest in purchasing fire engines.

2079 Chait 24, the then Chief District Officer Dharmendra Kumar Mishra also called the heads of the local level and decided to include in the budget for the purchase of the wind instrument in the budget of the next financial year. The decision was not implemented. Kanthamani Jaiswal, head of Garuda Municipality, told that there is a plan to purchase air control. "The lack of budget has become a problem now". We will soon proceed with the purchase process,' he said, 'We are coordinating with the nearby municipal head. Even if we buy together . We appreciate the decision made in the administration.' 

Last year, under the division forest office, a fire broke out in the firewood that was being piled in Gandatar Sub Division One. Varun Yantra came from Hariaun in Sarlahi, Nijgarh in Bara and Chandrapur Gaur to put out the fire. Even in the district, the forest staff said that the firewood was burnt and destroyed as it did not arrive on time. 

In March last year, 11 quadrupeds died when 3 houses caught fire while burning dung bundles to drive away mosquitoes in Gadhimai Municipality-6 Dharampur . To extinguish the fire, fire engines were called from Gaur and Chandrapur municipalities located at the headquarters. It took about an hour more to come from both places . Because of this, three houses were destroyed by fire. Animals died on all fours . The distance between Gaur and Chandrapur is 42 km. In the meantime, there is no fire station anywhere . The administration has been drawing the attention of the local level saying that there will be problems if there are fire incidents in West Vijaypur, East Samanpur, Dharampur and other areas of the district.

What is the preparation of the municipality?
Last Saturday, a fire broke out at Vaibhav Veneer Industry located in Mechinagar Municipality-14 of Jhapa. It was very difficult to control the fire in the industry from around 11 o'clock in the morning. The fire was brought under control only around 4 o'clock with the help of the fire brigades of 7 municipalities across the district, the security system with the Nepalese army and the local people. 

The spokesperson of Jhapa Police, Khagendra Bahadur Khadka, says that even though the industry owner is claiming that the damage is more than 30 million, the exact details of the damage have not been received.

Last Wednesday, a fire broke out in a house in Mechinagar-6. A fire broke out in the house of Mingmar Chiring Lama, a resident of Kankarvitta. A fire broke out in Shanti Community Forest located in Arjundhara-3 on Wednesday. Although there was no human loss from the fire, when the forest caught fire, wild animals and birds were harassed by it .

In this way, fire incidents are happening in the district one after the other on a daily basis. Which has not only increased the damage to business, but also affected the local citizens . According to the District Police Office, Jhapa, there have been 12 fire incidents in the district since March 1. From which there has been damage worth 2.2 million. In which the damage caused by the fire in the Vaibhav veneer industry of Mechinagar-14 last Saturday has not been included . Apart from the

industry, there has been damage worth 2.2 million. According to the district police, there were fire incidents in 4 houses and two sheds were burnt. 

Jhapa Rural Municipality, which is geographically difficult and difficult, does not have its own fire department. Anjudevi Thapalia, acting president of the municipality, said that due to the small budget, the municipality itself is not able to buy a fire engine. According to him, if there is a fire, the fire department should be called in cooperation with fire department, Virtamod, Kamal Rural Municipality and others. Due to the southern geography, they cannot even reach the fire station in time. ``During a disaster, local citizens, security personnel, public representatives all work together . The process of buying fire extinguishers has been started, we have also allocated funds, but it is not possible for the municipality alone to buy them. We are preparing to cooperate and purchase,'' Acting President Thapalia said.

Buddhashanti rural municipality is a municipality without a fire department. Where there is a fire, there is no option to cooperate with other municipalities that have fire brigades. The municipality has also realized the need for a fire brigade. Village Chairman Manoj Prasain said that disaster preparedness plans have been moved in collaboration with other three municipalities of the district, Kankai, Virtamod and Arjundhara.

'The plan has been put forward so that 50 percent of the provincial government, 20 percent under the Swiss government's provincial assistance program and 30 percent of the four municipalities will have a disaster management structure in Arjundhara-1 and all the four municipalities will be able to operate according to their needs . The construction work has started from last year through a tender,' he said, 'cooperation was done because the municipality could not operate it alone.' He said that since Buddhashanti does not have its own fire department, in case of a fire, it is controlled by collaborating with other municipalities. 

Shivasatakshi Municipality is a municipality that is prone to disasters such as forest fires due to its large forest area. Which has its own fire station . The municipality has formed a disaster management committee and has been reacting to the disaster.

According to Narmaya Karki, deputy head of the municipality, the municipality allocates the budget under the title of disaster fund, but in case of disasters like fire, wildfire, etc.

There is no fire department in Arjundhara municipality. According to Khadgmaya Parajuli, deputy head of the municipality, the project of disaster management has moved forward in collaboration with Arjundhara, Kankai, Virtamod and Buddhashanti. Under the

project, fire engines, ambulances, hearses and other vehicles will be operated . Which will be used by all four municipalities. She said that the construction of this project will be completed by next June. Out of 15 municipalities of Jhapa, 8 municipalities are still without fire brigade and only 7 municipalities have fire brigade.

Mechinagar, Bhadrapur, Virtamod, Gouradah, Shivasatakshi and Damak Municipality and Kamal Rural Municipality have fire stations. Being a border district, if there is a fire in Jhapa and the necessary management is not done, there are examples of fire brigades being called from the neighboring country of India to control the fire .