Humla’s Ramdev school at high risk of landslide

By Rajan Rawat

Humla, Aug 14 : Ramdev Secondary School, situated in Ward No. 2 of Simkot Rural Municipality in Humla district, is at grave risk of being hit by a landslide.

The risk has been well known for years but the lack of land and resources to relocate the school has led teachers and students to continue their education in the same place in persistent fear.

Kali Bahadur Bohora, a Simikot local, said that the school has been constructed in a steep slope. Locals had cut the slope and tried to prevent possible landslides but the risk still persists.

“We fear for our children’s safety when we send them to school during monsoon,” said Bohora.

The school had initially provided primary level education but was later upgraded to lower secondary and has been providing education up to secondary level for a decade now.  

“It is a tensed situation as we don’t have any other choice. Although we run classes, we can’t teach properly, nor can the students focus for fear of landslide,” said Tikaram Poudel, principal of the school.

Poudel added, “There is a slope on one side of the school, making us unable even to conduct proper extracurricular and sport activities.”

The school has no football ground but has a small space for volleyball. The ball often falls directly to the river down the hill and gets lost.

A preventive measure initiated till date is the construction of a small building in a separate place for students up to grade four over the past few years. 

“We have at least constructed a small building for small students because they struggle to reach the school on the hill,” said Bal Bhandari, chairman of the school’s management committee.

There are 195 students in the classes from five to 10 in all.  

“We have no land to relocate the school, nor do we have enough budget, support or facilitation from concerned authorities,” said Bhandari.