A week ago, a fire broke out in a village in Ramnagar, Duduwa-2, Banke. No one was home when the fire broke out. The locals were busy in their fields.

When the house started burning, the locals tried to put out the fire with water using a pump set, but they were unsuccessful. The fire brigade arrived only half an hour after the report from Nepalgunj. By then, all the houses had been burned to ashes. Only a few pieces of wood remained.

Five houses in the village were reduced to ashes in the fire. The food grains, clothes and money kept in the houses were also destroyed. The victims are left destitute after their belongings were burnt. There is no clothes to wear or food grains to eat. When we reached there on Wednesday, ash was piled up around the house. Burnt clothes and food grains were scattered. The lawn mower is out of order. The victims are now taking shelter under a tarpaulin.

Sabitram Godiya was returning from Nepalgunj when his house burned down. Godiya's family of 5, who works in transportation in Nepalgunj, is currently living in tents. Godiya, who earns 15,000 rupees a month, had saved 180,000 rupees in a box he had earned over two years. The fire also turned the dream of Savitram, who was preparing to buy bricks to build a house, into ashes. His wife's jewelry, which she had kept in the box along with the money, also burned to ashes. He is worried about how to raise his two sons and a daughter.

'The children don't have a single piece of clothing. Their birth certificates and citizenship certificates were all burned to ashes,' he said. 'I am in trouble after the money I saved to build that house was also burned.' Now, relatives have brought clothes. Neighbors from the village have provided food. Not only Savitram, but his father's house next to his house has also been burned to ashes.

65-year-old Babadin Godiya had a family of 5 in his house. Two sons, a daughter and his wife were living in the same house as usual. The fire turned the house into ashes in 10 minutes, and they couldn't even take out their belongings. Not only the belongings were burned, but also the money kept in the house. Silo had kept 1.5 lakh rupees in the house to prepare for his son's marriage.

'We were preparing for our son's marriage in Baisakh, all our dreams were shattered,' said Babadin, 'We are poor people, we live by farming. Now, misery has been added to misery.'

Neighbor Bakelal Yadav's family is also now under a tarpaulin. He had kept 90 thousand rupees from selling a buffalo and 1.5 lakh rupees from his son's savings in the house. A family of 11 people had been living in the house.

'I had sold the buffalo only three days ago, but my son did not listen to my advice to take the money and put it in the bank,' he said, 'My son was late coming, and suddenly there was a fire, and the money he had saved was also burned.' He said that although it was a tin house to live in, it was not there now.

Bakelal's brother Lallan had kept 2 lakh rupees in the house where his family of four lived. 1 lakh rupees taken out from a savings group and 1 lakh rupees saved, 2 lakh rupees were burnt in the fire. Lallan is now disappointed after his hard-earned income from farming turned into ashes in front of him. ‘I was in the field. I don’t know where the fire started,’ he said. ‘The house was burnt down in 10 minutes.’

A 72-year-old local woman, Talaka Godiya, walks alone, crying. She had brought 24,000 rupees, her and her husband’s three-month old age allowance, and kept it at home. She still can’t believe that the money had been burnt down. Nothing was left except the clothes she was wearing.

‘I had gone to cut grass when the fire broke out. When I returned, everything was burnt down,’ said Talaka Godiya. ‘There is no one to take care of us. We are only old people, and suffering has added to suffering.’

Currently, 5 families are taking shelter under the tarpaulin provided by the rural municipality. The leaders/administration have not reached there. The rural municipality has arranged for some food.

With the onset of summer in the district, incidents of fire have also started. According to District Police DSP Deepak Patali, initial information has come that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit.