For the past two days, cold wave and thick fog have made life difficult in Madhesh. Most people are sitting around burning incense sticks. Dalits, Musahars, women in childbirth, pregnant women, and the elderly are the most affected.
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Chetnagar village is about 6 kilometers southeast of the East-West Highway. There is a small hut at the end of the village.
Devratiya Devi Majhi (Musaharni), 60, was found shivering inside a hut covered with a straw mat. She was sleeping on the floor with straw and sacks spread out.
Devratiya of Chandrapur-9, Chetnagar is in a difficult condition. She was unable to get up until 11 am due to the cold. She has three sons. The eldest is Bhagirat Musahar, the younger is Ramkrishna Musahar, and the youngest is Jagarit Musahar.
They have left their mother Devratiya and gone elsewhere. Neighbor Bir Bahadur Shrestha said that she was helpless at home. ‘There is a cold wave. In winter, the old woman has nothing to wear,’ he said, ‘She spends the night covered with a straw mat. It is a disaster.’
Devratiya's husband Lalgobind Musahar died ten years ago. This is why her life is difficult. Not only Devratiya, but most of the Musahars of Chetnagar village are finding life difficult due to the increasing cold. Most of them complain that they do not even have a blanket to cover themselves with at night. The cold has affected the elderly and children of the settlement very much.
Most of the people in the village live by burning dhuni and keeping warm. Life has become difficult in Rautahat and the Terai-Madhesh regions due to the increasing cold and cold wave for the past two days. People in Dalit settlements have been affected the most due to the cold. The continuous cold wave has affected Dalit settlements as well as pregnant women, the elderly, the poor, the needy and livestock.
As the cold has increased, people are burning dhuni in most villages to keep warm. There is very little movement of people in the markets and inner villages. Dalits complain that they are facing problems due to lack of sleeping clothes at night. Due to the cold, animals and livestock have been kept warm by covering them with sacks. Asthma patients are more affected by the cold, said Subhash Chaudhary, a doctor at Chandrapur Hospital.
The impact of winter is more severe in Dalit settlements in areas such as Dumaria, Chetnagar, Santapur, Jugaulia, Kataharia, Ishanath, Gaur, Samanpur and other areas of Gujar. Musahar Sukhaliya Majhi (Musaharni) of Dumaria said that the local level has not provided any help to protect them from the cold so far. ‘We have reached a point where winter is killing us,’ she said, ‘We have not received any help from anywhere. People’s representatives should have helped at such a time.’
Due to the cold wave and thick fog, transport vehicles on the highway have been running less. District Traffic Police Inspector Rajendra Thapa Magar of Chandranigahapur said that they have started going out on the road and requesting drivers to drive slowly due to the fog.
‘Due to fog, approaching vehicles are not visible. Vehicles can collide with each other at such times,’ he said, ‘We have been gradually reaching out on the road and reminding drivers to travel safely. We have put up boards at various places.’ Thick fog and cold wave have been prevailing in the districts of Madhesh for the past two days.
