Uttargaya, August 31
Some children sit quietly, staring into the distance. Some are crying. Others are eating or playing.
When Onlinekhabar’s team reached the premises of Shivalaya Basic School in Uttargaya Rural Municipality of Rasuwa on Sunday afternoon, the human toll of the Bhotekoshi flood was difficult to miss.
A group of local leaders, civil society members, teachers and others who survived the flood were busy looking after the children. Around 100 students are currently staying at the school.
Whenever someone arrives at the school, the children gather around them. Perhaps, somewhere in their minds, there is still a hope that the person arriving could be a parent they have been waiting for.
The days are passing. But the children have not yet given up hope.
Among them is nine-year-old Bhujana Tamang, a third-grade student. Until the flood, her days were much like those of other children—playing and spending time with her family.
Now, the flood has disrupted that childhood.
On the day the Bhotekoshi flood struck, Bhujana had left home in Khalte of Uttargaya Rural Municipality-5 wearing her school uniform, just as she did every other day.
A school bus was on its way to pick her up. But before she could reach school, her life took a different turn.
Bhujana’s father worked at a nearby hydropower project, while her mother worked on a farm. She also lived with her five-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister. All four have been out of contact since the flood.
Recalling the moment the Bhotekoshi flood hit, Bhujana said police officers took her towards the forest after telling her that the river was rising.
At the time, her mother, brother and sister were on the road watching the flood. Bhujana has not seen them since. She is still hoping that her family members will return.
People around her believe that her parents, brother and sister may have been swept away by the flood. But nine-year-old Bhujana is not ready to accept that.
In a trembling voice, she said, “I haven’t seen anyone since the flood. Everyone says the flood swept away my father, mother, brother and sister. But I feel they will come back. I see them in my dreams.”
She continues to wait for her parents to return.
‘I am alone’
Ten-year-old Apsara Tamang is facing a similar uncertainty.
Apsara, who lives in Pairebesi in Rasuwa, is a fourth-grade student at Shri Malika Devi School. Before the Bhotekoshi flood, her daily routine was much like that of other children.
Wake up in the morning, comb her hair and go to school.
On Wednesday, she had also set out for school. After learning that the flood was coming, a teacher named Uma took her uphill to safety. Apsara survived.
But she does not know what happened to the family members who were at home.
Her father, Subba Tamang, worked at a hydropower project. He has been out of contact since the Bhotekoshi flood. Her mother is also unreachable. There is no information about her grandfather or grandmother either. Her maternal uncle, who worked with her father, is also missing.
Apsara’s 15-month-old brother is also missing.
“My grandfather, grandmother, mummy, aunt and brother were at home,” Apsara said through tears. “Where could they be now?”
When people tell her that her family members may have been swept away by the flood, she becomes even more distressed.
For a while, she cannot speak. Then, through tears, she repeats the same words: “I am alone.”
Alongside the worry over her family, she is also facing questions about what comes next.
What will she do now? Where will she live? Who will look after her?
Apsara is currently taking shelter at Shivalaya School. Other children are staying around her, while teachers and others are looking after them.
No home, no school
Mailung, Pahire Besi, Khalte, Kaidel Danda, Bogati and Betrawati areas of Uttargaya Rural Municipality have suffered extensive damage from the Bhotekoshi flood. After most houses were swept away, the settlements have been left in what was once their riverbed.
Hundreds of families have been displaced. Nearly 100 children have lost their parents, according to preliminary information.
According to Bharat Paudel, principal of Shivalaya Basic School, students had attended four schools in the Uttargaya area on Wednesday.
Teachers at Shri Nilkantha Secondary School, Ramchandra Basic School, Modern Trinity and Uttargaya Boarding School managed to take some students to safer places when the flood struck.
The displaced children were initially kept at Nilkantha Secondary School. However, as concerns grew over the possibility of further floods and landslides around the school, they were moved to Shivalaya Basic School, which was considered relatively safer, Paudel said.
Children are now staying at Shivalaya along with their parents and some flood-affected families from around Nilkantha Secondary School. Some children have been taken in by relatives.
According to Prakash Nepal, a teacher at Shri Nilkantha Secondary School in Uttargaya-5, the settlements that had been relocated after the earthquake were among those worst affected by this flood.
“After the earthquake, the displaced settlements were relocated along the riverbank,” Nepal said. “That is why there was such a heavy human toll this time.”
He said the residents of those settlements were originally from different areas of the former Haku Village Development Committee.
Instead of being relocated to safer areas after the earthquake, they had been resettled along the riverbank.
The same settlements have now been swept away by the Bhotekoshi flood.
Around 550 students were enrolled at Nilkantha Secondary School. Nepal said around 200 of them are currently out of contact.
Trinity, Ramchandra Residential and Uttargaya Public School, located within the school area, have also been completely destroyed by the Bhotekoshi flood. Preliminary information suggests that around 150 students from those schools are also missing.
“Nearly 200 students from Nilkantha alone have still not made contact,” Nepal said.
As the risk of flooding increased, the school had been conducting classes from 9 am for the past two years. Nepal said bringing students to school early had helped prevent an even greater loss of life this time.
“If the school had not been operating at that time, we could have lost nearly 80 percent of the students,” he said.
The school has also lost contact with four teachers and staff members following the flood. They include a computer engineering teacher, a Plus Two-level teacher, an early childhood teacher and the school nurse.
“We have lost hope. Even so, we still hope they will be found alive and come back into contact,” he said.
More than 60 students have lost parents in the Bhotekoshi flood
The school has begun collecting preliminary information about the family situations of students following the flood.
Nepal said the initial data suggests that around 100 students may have lost their parents.
“So far, we have registered the names of 60 students staying at this holding centre who have been left without parents,” he said. “We estimate that the number could reach around 100.”
With telephone and internet services disrupted, the full extent of the damage is still not known.
‘It did not feel like a river. It was like a storm’
Nepal said he was preparing to go to school on the day the flood struck.
After eating and putting on his school uniform, he received information that there were no settlements in the upper area but that settlements along the road in the lower area were at risk. He then began contacting students and relatives.
He also used Facebook to warn local residents, posting that the river was rising and asking people in the surrounding areas to stay safe.
But within minutes, the situation went beyond control.
“Within five to seven minutes of starting to make calls, we heard that the river had already reached Dhunche,” Nepal said. “It did not feel like a river. It was more like a storm or a strong wind.”
He said the scene after the flood was difficult to describe.
“It was something you could hardly bear to watch and something unimaginable,” he said.
Telephone and internet services remain disrupted following the flood, making it difficult to contact many students, parents and local residents.
But Nepal says the response cannot stop at addressing the immediate needs.
“Three schools no longer have any structure. The government needs to think about the long-term future of children who have lost their families,” teacher Nepal said.
