Flood-affected people complain of not getting relief

Inaruwa (Sunsari), Oct 4: The swollen Sunsari rivulet entered the human settlements at Babiya and flooded the entire area following the incessant rains on September 28 and 29. The floodwaters also entered the house of Kumari Khatwe at Inaruwa-9 and washed away all the goods, including cooking utensils, in the house.

The Khatwe family was displaced and the entire house is still wet. There is not even a place to breastfeed an infant in the family. There is no dry place for cooking food as even the house surrounding is also muddy. The flood-affected families of the locality have not received any relief so far, lamented Shatrughan Khatwe, one of the flood victims. Around 40 families at the Khatwe settlement alone in Babiya have been affected by the flooding caused by the swollen Sunsari rivulet. The flood has caused damage at Inaruwa-4 and 9.

“It is even difficult to go to the toilet as the houses are filled with mud and the house courtyards in a waterlogged condition,” said a local Kumari Khatwe, describing the condition in her settlement after the flooding. The flood-hit people are surviving on only one meal of puffed rice since five days, according to Anusha Marik. Inaruwa Municipality-9 ward chairperson Basirmuddin Mansuri said the Ward Office has provided the puffed rive and flattened rice to the affected people. Eight families of the landless settlers including those of Khatwe, Marik and Sada, are in greatest difficulty as their houses were completely flooded.

These daily wage earner families are without food as they are not getting work after the natural disaster, complained Kumari Devi Khatwe, herself a flood victim. The flood victims said that nobody has come to listen to their complaints and they have been so far sheltering at a local school. They complained that all the three tiers of the government have not supported them in terms of food, shelter and clothes. Inaruwa Ward No 4 chairman Bauwalal Mehata, however, claimed that the local government distributed relief materials including foodstuffs to the affected families only two days back and nobody had to go hungry.

He said initiatives are on for managing additional relief assistance to the affected families through the District Administration Office. Inaruwa Municipality mayor Kedar Bhandari said relief materials have been distributed to the affected families in the municipality from the related local Ward Offices. —RSS