Until three years ago, Sarbajit Bik of Chiuritol, Nalgad Municipality-1, used to be busy with shopping, painting, cooking, and playing Bhaili during Tihar.

‘Why do you think festivals are coming after the earthquake? A family of 7 has to live in a small hut,’ he said. ‘We do normal tikatalo, but playing bhaili and preparing food have been abandoned since the morning.’ 

His neighbor Bhimsen Bik lost his wife Kamala and 4-year-old son Sanjay in the earthquake. ‘When festivals come, the memory of the old woman and her son makes me sad,’ he said. ‘Last year was an anniversary, this year too we did not prepare finiroti, sela and other dishes, there will be no tikotalo.’ 

The earthquake that hit Barekot in Jajarkot on Kartik 17, 2080, claimed the lives of 13 people in Chiuritol alone.  Now the entire settlement is living in temporary huts. After facing problems in earning a living, most of the youth have gone to India for labor. In search of work  Local leader Naresh BK said that there was no joy of Tihar in the village as those who had gone did not return. ‘Half a person from each family has gone to India, but this time only 8-10 people have returned,’ he said, ‘There is no excitement of Tihar in the village as there are no youth, the settlement is deserted.’ He said that about 150 youth from about 80 families in the village have gone to India for work.’

There is also no joy of Tihar in Rawatgaun, Bheri Municipality-1, about an hour and a half walk from Chiurigaun. 16 people lost their lives in Rawatgaun in the earthquake. ‘In the villages across Rukum, we hear the sound of the madal and the playing of the bhaili, but in our area, no one has cooked dishes such as selroti-fini, nor does anyone play the bhaili,’ said local Ang Bahadur Nepali. ‘We are thinking of not celebrating the festival until the entire village builds new houses.’ He said that it is difficult for a family of 8 to live in a temporary tent.

Bheri Municipal Executive Member Dote Nepali, who is also a permanent resident of Ward No. 1, said that no one has prepared for Tihar in the village, which has about 90 houses. ‘The houses of our sisters and brothers have also collapsed in the earthquake,’ he said. ‘Most families have neither the expenses to celebrate Tihar nor enough food.’

INSEC District Representative Basudev Sharma said that there was not much human activity in Khalanga, the district headquarters, even during the festival. ‘Before the earthquake, the hustle and bustle of festivals used to be different, the market was bustling with shoppers,’ he said, ‘Everyone is staying in tents, there is no buzz of festivals.’ According to him, most of the villages in Jajarkot, where villagers used to gather during Dashain-Tihar two years ago to make pings, dance and sing, and participate in various sports competitions, are now deserted.

The government has made a procedure to provide Rs 400,000 per family for the reconstruction of private houses affected by the earthquake. The procedure mentions that Rs 250,000 will be provided for reinforcement and Rs 100,000 for general repairs.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, the earthquake damaged about 76,000 houses in Jajarkot and Rukum West. Of these, 48,517 beneficiaries have been identified in Jajarkot alone. Of which, about 43,000 have built temporary houses. Jajarkot Chief District Officer Raju Prasad Poudel said that the local levels have started the work of signing agreements with the beneficiaries for reconstruction. According to him, so far, 600 beneficiaries have signed reconstruction agreements in Bheri Municipality, and a recommendation has been made to retain 1,400 more beneficiaries. He informed that Nalgad Municipality has recommended retaining about 3,000 beneficiaries. Bheri Municipality Mayor Chandra Prakash Gharti said that the work of building new houses for the earthquake-affected should be accelerated as the cold weather has begun.