After crossing the suspension bridge over the Gideri River in Bandanda, Belka Municipality-2, one reaches the island of Sri Lanka. Near the bridge is the house of the Tetru Rajbanshi, which has a bamboo roof and thatch roof. The Tetru are not the indigenous inhabitants of this place.

He came here from Prakashpur in Sunsari. ‘I am busy in the vegetable garden all day, I go home after harvesting vegetables,’ he said, ‘At night, elephants come and destroy the crops.’ Elephants not only destroy crops, but also destroy houses. He said that they even kill locals when they come into contact with them. ‘I cannot sleep peacefully due to fear of elephants,’ he said.

According to locals, elephants cause a lot of trouble in winter. During the rainy season, the Koshi floods and besieges them. According to Rajbanshi, after the water flow in the Gideri river increases, it is not possible to cross it from the suspension bridge. Due to which the local residents are trapped on the island. Therefore, before the onset of the rainy season, the locals buy and store necessary food, salt, oil and other items.

According to Suraj Mahato of Ramnagar on the island of Sri Lanka, there is no possibility of taking pregnant women to a health facility for delivery. ‘Pregnant women give birth at home,’ he said, ‘they have to rely on the village midwife.’ The health post is not nearby. They have to cross the Gideri River and reach Bhagalpur, three kilometers away.

Even if they can reach the health post in winter, it is not possible during the rains. ‘In winter, the villagers have installed a motor to draw water from the ground in the fields.’ However, there is no electric power line to run the motor,’ he said. Despite repeated requests to the municipality’s mayor Ashok Karki and ward chairman Prem Dahal to solve the electricity problem, he says that there is no solution. ‘A line to light a lamp will come,’ Mahato said, ‘Neither a mill can be run, nor a motor can be run, so how can we farm?’

There is a Ramjanaki Basic School on the island, which offers education up to grade 5. There is a shortage of students. Local cattle and buffaloes graze in the school premises. It takes children 1 hour to reach Bhagalpur Secondary School in Belka-2. Bijay Mahato of Ramnagar says that the residents here, who are busy with agriculture, also employ their children in the fields.

Even the telephone does not pick up well on the island. Due to which there is no easy communication. The only option for drinking water in the settlement is a tap. The locals are troubled by the problem of taps drying up in winter. They demand that alternative arrangements for drinking water be made. The residents who have migrated from Udayapur, Sunsari, Morang, Saptari and other districts have temporary residences. Agriculture is their main occupation.

The parties and candidates in the district are busy meeting voters for the House of Representatives elections on Falgun 21. However, the islanders are not affected by the elections. The residents here do not even have time to talk about the elections. Local Saroj Mallik is also busy in his fields. He has planted vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, radishes, greens, cabbage, and cauliflower in his fields.

He spends his days watering, fertilizing, watering vegetables, and taking the produced vegetables to the market to sell. ‘We are busy in the fields all day,’ he said, ‘We do not even have time to listen to speeches.’ He said that after finishing the work in the fields all day, the elephants start terrorizing him at night. ‘We cannot even sleep well, what can we do after telling the leaders about the problems? They will not solve them,’ he said, ‘We have to face whatever is necessary ourselves.’ Earlier, during elections, leaders used to come to the settlements to seek votes. When they came, they would promise to solve the problems. He said that after the elections, the leaders forget the residents and their pain.