Four years after landslide, 24 families are still languishing in tattered tents

Four years after a devastating landslide rendered their homes unsafe, 24 families in Malagaun, Nepal, continue to live in decaying tents. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority identified the settlement as needing urgent relocation, but official rehabilitation processes have stalled, prolonging the residents' ordeal.

The landslide, triggered by torrential rains in 2022, forced villagers to evacuate their homes. Since then, the affected households have resided in temporary tents near a local stream. Their daily lives involve a perilous commute: adults cross the stream to farm their ruined fields and return to the tents at dusk. During heavy rains, they are confined to the shelters, exposed to falling rocks and the risk of further landslides.

"The government made grand promises of swift rehabilitation, but after four years, nothing has materialised," said Dan Bahadur Auji, a displaced victim. "The tents provided initially are now worn out and leak when it rains. We must cross a swollen stream every time we need supplies or go to work." He added that they lack piped drinking water and jobs, and are struggling to afford basic food supplies.

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The government made grand promises of swift rehabilitation, but after four years, nothing has materialised. The tents provided initially are now worn out and leak when it rains. We must cross a swollen stream every time we need supplies or go to work. When the rains intensify, the stream swells, completely cutting us off. We have no piped drinking water, no jobs, and are running out of money for basic food supplies.

Sunita Auji, another resident living in a tent with her six family members, echoed these sentiments. "We have been waiting for a safe home since the day the landslide took ours. But we are still stuck in these tents. The plastic sheets are torn, rocks fall from the slopes above, and every rainfall brings severe fear." The journey across the stream becomes particularly hazardous during monsoon peaks, forcing villagers to carry heavy loads and sick family members across the raging waters to reach health centers.

While municipal authorities and NGOs provided immediate relief, including food and tents, the lack of long-term solutions has left the community in chronic deprivation. The absence of basic infrastructure like clean drinking water and proper sanitation exacerbates their suffering.

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We have been waiting for a safe home since the day the landslide took ours. But we are still stuck in these tents. The plastic sheets are torn, rocks fall from the slopes above, and every rainfall brings severe fear. We have to carry small children on our backs to cross the stream. The peril increases every day it rains.