By Amar Raj Naharki, Tanahun, Dec. 12: An elderly Tanahun couple has been forced to live in a roofless shanty with their children in the bitterly cold weather. Dhanwal Gurung, 76, of Myagde Rural Municipality-5, Jhiruwas, Jamune, along with his family, has been living in the shanty ever since their house was damaged by the June landslide.

Dhanwal has been living a risky life in the rickety hut for the past six months with a damaged house, torn straw mats and tattered clothes. Despite the grim condition of the family, concerned authorities have yet to pay enough attention to their plight.

The couple has been living there with their four sons and five daughters. Because the family is able to get by on the meagre wages made from the daily labour, constructing a decent house for them is a far-fetched dream. As a result, they are forced to live in the open in such biting weather.

Although the government has introduced various programmes for poor families, the family has no access to any of them. Located 500 kilometres north of the Prithvi Highway, the miserable condition of the family makes every passerby emotional. 

Dhanwal Gurung, who has received no relief whatsoever for the last six months, said that the government is totally indifferent towards his grief. “The thatched roof of the house is broken, walls have caved in, supporting bamboo pillars have broken into pieces, but I have nowhere to go,” bemoaned grief-stricken Gurung when asked why he live in such a house. 

Even though the government has been running a programme through local government to immediately replace thatched or fragile roofs with Rs. 50,000 worth of zinc-sheet roof under the Safe Citizen Housing Programme, the delay in its implementation has forced the family to lead such a miserable life.

Shiva Bahadur Ale, Chairperson of Ward No. 5 of the rural municipality, informed that the Gurung family had been included in the list of beneficiaries getting Rs. 300,000 under the programme. But, it will take a year for the process to complete, he added.

However, the family is oblivious of the scheme unveiled for the homeless, roofless, and landslide-affected people. With no proper clothes to save themselves from the harsh winter, the family have been spending cold nights burning firewood to keep themselves warm, hoping that one day it will be able to benefit from the programme.