The victims refused to relocate saying that the houses were not built to be suitable for farming and rearing livestock.
What you should know
In August 2078, after the Dalit settlement of Mellekh Rural Municipality-6 Shodsha Madigada was at risk of landslides, 8 families requested the ward and rural municipality to make alternative arrangements. When the municipality called a geologist to study, it was found that the settlement is at high risk of landslides.
After the local level elections were held in 2079, relocation of villages that were at risk of landslides became an election agenda. The UML-Unified Socialist and Congress-Maoist alliance also made the topic of slum relocation the main agenda in the manifesto.
Immediately after being elected, the Ward President proposed to the executive that Madigada's settlement is at risk and should be relocated. The rural municipality proceeded with the process of requesting the budget from the Sudurpaschim province government and moving the settlement. In 2080/81, the provincial government allocated 2.4 million for the construction of 8 houses, said the ward president Tilak Bahadur Kadayat.
According to him, it took a year just to find land for relocation. "It took a year to find the land to build all the eight houses in one place," he said. Now they don't want to stay. They said that they don't want to live because their land, the place where they have land and the place where they have built their house is too far away.
He said that he refused to live even when he built a house near the school and health post. It is our duty to safely transfer those who are at risk. If they don't agree to stay, we will use that house even if it is for government work,' said the Ward President strictly, 'We are discussing the issue of housing other families who are at risk of landslides.' Eight houses have been built at the rate of 3 lakhs per person. It has no windows, no doors. It seems that a person has to spend at least 50,000 to arrange windows, doors, electricity and water," he said. Home expenses should be covered from the earnings of those who went to India. The house was built. But left it unfinished.'
Pariyar said that he could not move into the newly built house as it was not suitable for rearing cattle. You cannot live without rearing cattle. There is no place to tie cattle in the houses built by the government. The house built now is on one side, our land is on the other side," he said. Nothing matters. We told them not to build a house there, but they didn't listen.' According to him, the new house is near the site of Masto deity, so menstruating women could not move due to the fear of not being able to go there.
In 2075, 53 houses were at risk when a dry landslide occurred in Rithagaon, Melekh-7, Nandegada. A house was also built for them in Nandegada with government investment. Those houses are now empty as the victims of Rithagaon did not want to stay saying that they were unwell. Mellekh Rural Municipality called a geologist and conducted a technical examination of Rithagaon. After the technical study concluded that there is a risk to live in that village, the rural municipality proceeded with the settlement relocation process. Out of 53 houses in Rithagaon, 16 houses were built at a walking distance of about one and a half hours.
16 houses were built for 11.1 million with a budget of 60 lakhs of the Sudurpaschim province government and 50 lakhs of Mellekh Rural Municipality. According to Bal Bahadur Saud, a landslide victim and member of Ward 7, the house was built to relocate Rithagaon landslide victims as a model settlement. But Melekh Rural Municipality has not yet handed over those houses to the landslide victims.
He assured that one house, one stream, Lalpurja in the name of the individual, and a model settlement with a school will be built. All our farming is in Rithagaon. There are cattle. If we make the first model settlement. We also donated labor," said Saud, a ward member. "In 2078, 16 families stayed for two months from July to October. Not even a yard. There is no land above. Even when a piece of paper fell, the landlord started scolding him for throwing garbage. We are back to the same place again.'
Even now, he said that he had to leave the house at night when it was raining. He said that the government does not understand the pain of farming and raising cattle while building houses. "We can't stay like the employees camped out. First assured of a model settlement. Now they don't even give Lalpurja. There is no environment to live there," Saud said. In some of the houses built for the landslide victims, the Nandegada health post is now operational, while some are empty.
