Dhansingh and Thulimaya Chepang, who had been living in a 15-year-old thatched-roof house, are relieved to be able to move to a new house with a zinc and plywood roof.
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Dhansingh and Thulimaya Chepang of Upper Kandaka, Lothar, Rapti Municipality-13, are confident that their house will leak in the coming monsoon. They moved to a house with a zinc roof and strong railings from Saturday.
The Chepang couple had an old thatched house built 15 years ago. Dhansingh, 70, and Thulimaya, the same age, were no longer able to go to the forest to cut grass. The house was getting sick. The thatched roof of the house, which was supported by two pillars, was sure to fail in this monsoon.
Dhansingh and Thulimaya, whose roofs did not keep water out, had faced the same difficulties for drinking water. Even though there was a tap, when there was no water, Dhansingh and Thulimaya would fill one or two bottles of water and bring it when they went to the forest to graze their cattle. Since Dhansingh's hands were not working properly, Thulimaya was responsible for collecting water.
After their six siblings grew up, they became a household name. In their old age, only Dhansingh and Thulimaya remained in the village. After the news ' The roof does not block water, water does not flow into the tap ' was published in Kantipur, support was mobilized.
Murali Prasad Gajurel of Parsa Khairhani procured zinc sheets for the roof. Actor and producer Rabindra Singh Baniya, who is also the former president of Miteri Foundation, an organization that has been doing social work in Kandama, arranged for strong plywood that would not be damaged by water to be used for the construction of the house on behalf of Shatkon Arts, which is producing the film 'Lali Bazaar'.
It was not possible to carry bricks, and it was not easy to carry stones and apply mortar, so ply had to be chosen as an alternative. Even though ply is lighter than others, it was difficult to transport it from the warehouse to the kanda.
It is not easy to reach the upper kanda of Lothar, a village of Dhansingh in Rapti Municipality-13. The pickup Bolero carrying zinc and ply reached Dhungabang in about three hours, crossing a slightly easier and more difficult hilly dirt road. The motorway ends from Dhungabang.
His village is at the foot of Kamingchuli, a mountain connected to Dhading and one of the highest in Chitwan. It takes four hours to reach there on foot from Dhungabang. 'It was very difficult to carry the long, wide iron and plywood, but the villagers finally brought it together,' said Dhansingh, 'This house will last as long as we live, and we won't even have to worry about cutting the straw.' After the iron and plywood were collected, the villagers helped carry it to the village and bring wood from the forest to make the pillars and planks. The news that the house was being built for the grandmother also made the sons who were far from the village excited.
Since Dhansingh's hands were not working well, Thulimaya was busy moving the belongings from the old hut to the new house. A neighboring woman was helping her. She initially kept a basket of wood she had found in the forest inside the house. Wood is known as the main food eaten by the Chepangs. 'Earlier, we had to survive on the same bundles of tubers, yams, and sisno and tanki vegetables brought from the forest. Especially after Chaitra, other grains ran out and famine struck. Now, we don't have to go to the forest and bring bundles of bhayakur to survive,' said Dhansingh.
Even though a reliable house has been built, the problem of drinking water continues. This has not only affected the Dhansingh couple but also the 6/7 Chepang family living there. 'Dhansingh Kaka's house has been built well. It would have been better if there was a good drinking water system in the village,' said local Buddhi Bahadur Chepang.
