Kailali, Aug 13: The Badi community residing in Balchaur of Lamki Chuha Municipality-3, Kailali, has been rendered almost homeless after their settlement was submerged by continuous monsoon rains. Dozens of families are now taking refuge with relatives and neighbors, struggling for basic survival.
The settlement, which comprises 71 houses, was built for landless Badi families who had migrated from various districts in Sudurpashchim, Karnali, and Lumbini provinces since 2064 BS. However, with 12 homes now completely underwater and others partially submerged, the situation has turned dire.
Rima Devi Badi, 33, said her family has been unable to cook or stay inside her wooden home since it flooded. “The water entered our house, and now snakes roam around. We’re terrified,” she said.
Rima, a daily wage earner, lost her husband in a canal accident months ago and is now raising three children alone. “It’s hard to even go to work after the inundation. We have nothing left.”
Another local, Shanti Badi said, “Water is filled our kitchen and surroundings. We can’t cook, and we have no proper toilets. Our small children are at constant risk of drowning in the water.”
The Badi people here said none either from the state or other sides are approaching them for help in this crisis. Though the houses were being built under the government’s initiative, a lack of proper drainage systems keeps the highly vulnerable to inundation.
“We lost everything including food, clothes, and whatever little we had,” said Arjun Badi. “We survive on daily wages, and now we can’t even go to work. We are struggling to manage two square of meals for the families. Our children are living in misery.”
Flooding has become a recurring issue in the settlement that lies near the East-West Highway. Over the past year alone, four people including two children drowned in the nearby canal under the Ranijamara-Kuriya Irrigation Project.
The residents are now urging the government to take immediate action to prevent further loss and suffering. “We were promised safe housing,” one resident said. “But the settlement is not safe.”#nepal #Badi community #@rss
