Bajura’s villagers relies on early warning sirens amid landslide risks

By Sher Bahadur Sarki

Bajura, June 23: The residents of the Bajedi settlement in Budhiganga Municipality-2 of Bajura are currently relying on sirens to stay in their village.

With the onset of the rainy season, the residents of Bajedi settlement, who used to leave their village in search of safer places, have started staying in their village since the installation of siren machines last November/December.

Local resident Dinesh Raj Jaishi said they used to stay under tarpaulins in safe places during the rainy season due to the fear of landslides. He said, "During the rainy season, houses here gradually move downward due to landslides. When houses move down like this, there is a fear of being buried by a landslide at night, so we used to stay in safe places during the rainy season."

Jaishi has said that with the installation of two early warning siren machines in the village, they now have the hope of escaping and saving their lives during a landslide, so they have chosen to stay in the village. 

From 1965 to 2023, the residents of Bajedi have spent their nights in constant fear of landslides. As the settlement has not been relocated, 135 households in Bajedi are living in high-risk areas and 90 households have already been displaced by floods and landslides.

The locals have repeatedly requested the local, provincial and federal governments to relocate the settlement, but they claim that their pleas have gone unheard.

Approximately 7,000 ropanis of land have turned into barren land due to landslides and the threat of landslides continues, increasing the likelihood of the entire settlement being displaced.

To protect the locals from landslides, Budhiganga Municipality, with financial support from Sahas Nepal and technical assistance from Ram Laxman Pvt. Ltd., has installed early warning siren machines in the village, informed Dharma Raj Jaishi, Ward No. 2 member.

He said, "These machines can sound alarms up to one kilometre away during a landslide. The sound helps the locals to escape during a landslide, so these machines were installed last November/December." He said that the locals had chosen to stay in the village during this rainy season as they could be pre-alerted by the machines. 

Most villages in Bajura are currently at high risk of landslides. According to Ram Laxman Pvt. Ltd. installing early warning siren machines in these villages is crucial to facilitate evacuation during landslides. These machines can sound alarms up to one kilometre away during a landslide, making it easier for the locals to escape.

Ram Laxman, operator of the Ram Laxman Pvt. Ltd. said that such machines were installed for the first time in Bajura and it was very necessary to install these machines in other areas as well. 

Currently, only two machines have been installed in Bajedi. These machines can alert not only the locals of Bajedi but also the residents of Guiban in Khaptad Chhededaha Rural Municipality about landslides.