Lelep locals leaving homes to avoid winter chill

By Chandan Pandak,Taplejung, Dec. 2: Locals of Lelep Ghunsa in Taplejung district have begun leaving their homes to escape the winter cold. As mercury continues to drop, many villagers have abandoned their settlement to avoid the severe cold.

Lelep Ghunsa, located in Phaktanglung Rural Municipality-6, lies at an altitude of 3,475 metres above sea level. 

It is the second-highest Himalayan settlement in the district, after Olangchung Gola's Yangma (4,200 metres). Due to the drop in temperatures, locals of Ghunsa have started leaving the village, informed Pema Sherpa, a local.

Sherpa said that four to five families had already left Ghunsa to escape the cold, these families have travelled to Kathmandu. Currently, 33 families reside in Ghunsa. Except for eight to nine families most are planning to leave Ghunsa due to the harsh weather, he added. 

Sherpa's family is also planning to leave Ghunsa within the next week. This time, they intend to move to the district headquarters, Phungling, to escape the cold. Another local, Phuti Sherpa, said that she had started planning to leave the village as the temperatures continued to drop. She said that many others were also preparing to leave within the next week or so to escape the intense cold. While there has been no snowfall yet, she said that the cold in the Himalayan region had already become extreme. Her village is located at an altitude of 3,232 metres.

During the winter months, residents of Ghunsa, Fale, Yangma and Mikwakhola Rural Municipality-5 in Taplejung’s Topkegola village typically leave their homes to avoid the cold. Most of them go to Kathmandu, where they stay with relatives or rent rooms. Some families also travel to Phungling or other areas.

Those who leave usually return once the winter season ends. Normally, families start returning around the month of Falgun (February/March).