२३.१२°C काठमाडौं
Collection of firewood from upland valley
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Highlights
- Incidents of death and disappearance occur every year while collecting firewood
No life jacket. Nor any other means of protection. Collecting firewood in an inflated tube on the slopes of the Mahakali is not at all risky. But Manoj Rana of Bhimdatta Municipality-12 Odali jumps into the Mahakali along with his friend, taking such a risk. They collect small and big pieces of wood brought by the herds.
Flowing below the Banbasa Bridge of Sharda Barrage, Rana collects firewood and reaches the under-construction four-lane concrete bridge on the Mahakali River. In this way, the risk is very high when collecting firewood.
'There is a lot of fear, there is also a lot of risk,' said Rana, who was extracting firewood from the tube Said that there is also oil joho.
In Mahakali, when the flood recedes, firewood is taken from the tube in the river, and when there is a flood, it is taken from the bank. The firewood is pulled like a wire hook on a long wooden stick. At that time, there is a crowd of firewood collectors on the river bank.
In this way, while collecting firewood, the collectors have also run away every year. Last Friday also 2 people were washed away in the river. If one person's body is found, one person is still missing. When collecting firewood by going to the river, there is also a risk of air coming out of the tube. But Suresh Rana of Odali says that he goes with 5/7 people in three/four tubes.
"We all go in a group, if something happens to one tube, the other one is nearby," he said, "There is no forest nearby, where to get firewood from?" Every year, one or two people are killed while cutting firewood in this way.
Locals do not only collect firewood, but also risk their lives to fish. Incidents of death are happening even when fishing in this way. One person died during the flood in the last week of June. During firewood collection and fishing, there are incidents of people being washed away in the Barseni river. However, there is no effort for prevention.
Locals say that they should stop going towards the river when there is a big flood. Ratan Singh Rana, a local, said, "There are cases of people dying because of the greed of small firewood. They should not go to the river bank when there is a big flood."
Even now, small children are going to the Mahakali river to collect firewood and bathe. Rana said that they should be stopped from going to the river. He said that concerned families, locals and security personnel should pay attention to this.
प्रकाशित : आश्विन ३, २०८१ १४:४६
