Managing Dashain expenses from timber collection

By Baburam Karki,Barahakshetra, Oct. 6: The flood that hit the Koshi River at the fag end of the monsoon created challenges for riverside residents, 

but the timber it brought has allayed the worries of many as Dashain approaches.

Residents in the Koshi Corridor area, who have been earning a living through labour, have earned the 

funds needed for Dashain by collecting and selling the timber brought by the river.

Although there was no major flood in the Saptakoshi River earlier this monsoon, the largest flood that hit in the last week of September has 

helped the residents of the riverbed areas to make some income by selling the firewood that was brought by the river.

In the four months of the monsoon, the timber that comes down the Koshi River has become a source of income for the people living on its banks, said Chet Nath Prasai from Dharahara Tapan.

He said, “After the flood in the river, we collected timber until 2 AM. We sold timber worth over Rs. 40,000.”

His brother, Arjun Prasai, also shared that they managed to pull out enough timber from the river to cover their expenses. To collect the timber, some used boats while others relied on the support of bamboo to pull them from the river.

Timber is extracted every year from the Sisuali Ghat, Shukrabare area, Rajabash and the Koshi banks of Dharhara Tapan. Hundreds of families living along the banks of the Saptakoshi River have been risking their lives to collect timber that flows down with the floods.

Timber from homes and forests, such as eucalyptus, Acacia catechu, Shorea robusta, and blue pine has been coming down the Koshi due to landslides in the eastern hilly region. 

For up to six months of the year, families have been sustaining themselves by extracting timber from the Koshi River.

However, extracting timber that comes with the flood of the Saptakoshi is not so easy. Sagar Prasai said that extracting timber brought down from the hills put lives at risk. 

He added that since timber only came down during the flood, they have to work day and night during the monsoon to collect it.

With no land or job opportunities, they risk their lives to extract timber from the Koshi to cover household expenses. 

Shiva Kumar Mandal, who has been earning a living by extracting timber from the Koshi for years, said, “For those of us with nothing, the Koshi has become a source of livelihood. The timber extracted from the river during the monsoon can sustain a family for three to six months, and after that, we take up work like weaving wires or filling sacks as the Koshi project embankment work opens up.”

Indra Bahadur Limbu, a local, said that this extracted timber is sold for Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000 per tractor load. He said, “This time, the flood at the end of September has added happiness to the upcoming festival.”