Barpak loses touristic identity post-2015 quake

BY BASANT PARAJULI,Barpak, Mar. 13: Barpak of Gorkha is a beautiful village with original identity, rich in natural beauty. Identical houses made with stones along with stone-laid front yard and walls are considered as the distinct identity of Barpak. But, these houses are gradually disappearing now and seem like Barpak is on the verge of losing its identity. 

Dhan Bahadur Ghale, chair of Ward No. 1 of Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality, said that the earthquake that occurred on April 25, 2015 with an epicentre at Barpak, had destroyed the original houses there and people’s distinct way of life. “The earthquake took away our identity along with the physical damage,” he said. 

According to the statistics of the ward office, 72 people had lost their lives in the earthquake including destruction of 1,460 houses. Out of the collapsed houses, 1,400 houses have been rebuilt so far. Most of the houses are rebuilt using Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) which resulted in the extinction of original house culture. Chairman Ghale informed that only four houses were built in traditional way are left in whole Barpak. 

Sahila Gurung, a local, said that the government gave them an assistance of Rs. 300,000 to the victims of earthquake. After that he did not have other options but building concrete houses. “I added money to the relief amount given by the government and built the house in a modern way,” he said. He said, “Only few concrete houses could survive the earthquake. So I decided to have a concrete house for myself.”

It seems that due to lack of information that the traditional houses could be made earthquake-resistant, many people had started building concrete houses. Engineer Jharana Joshi, a professor at the Architect Department of Kathmandu University, said that old archeological houses could also be made earthquake-resistant. Though the matter was serious, no one had shown interest to save the originality of Barpak, she added. The old houses with worn out roofs and walls and rotten woods should be maintained time and again to make them earthquake-resistant, she said. 

Barpak starts after going uphill crossing Daraudi of Barpak Baluwa located in the north-east of Gorkha district headquarters. Barpak, consisting majorities of Buddhist Ghales and Gurungs, is characterized by the simple behaviour, religion, customs, art and culture, and dances like Maruni and Ghatu. Known as the village of Lahures and Gaje Ghale (Victoria Cross winner), Barpak is now slowly losing all its originality and changing into a township. 

Avinav Gautam, engineer of Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality, said, “A debate has risen why would tourists come to visit Barpak if the local community is not aware about the preservation of originality.”