Badis struggle to survive through harsh winter

BY BASUDEV SHARMA,Jajarkot, Jan. 13: The Badi community living on the banks of Nalsingad of Dalli in Nalgad Municipality-7, Jajarkot is struggling to survive in the harsh winter season. 

Approximately, 45 households have been living in makeshift shelters built on public land along the river, a practice passed down from their ancestors, and relying on fishing, gravel collection and labour work for their daily survival.

According to Sarita Badi, a member of the executive committee of Nalgad Municipality, the Badi community, an ethnic minority, has been facing challenges due to their traditional livelihood of fishing along the riverbanks. For nearly 30 years, they have built shelters on public land, where they continue to live. 

After the earthquake last year, which destroyed their homes in the Ramidanda area of Barikot Rural Municipality-1 in Jajarkot, the government provided a grant of Rs. 25,000 for temporary housing. Since then, the community has been living on the Nalsingad riverbanks as they do not own land. Currently, they reside on land owned by the Nalgad Hydropower Project, a flagship project of Karnali Province.

Geeta Badi, from Nalgad Municipality-7, said that the community has no land to build homes and do farming, leaving them dependent on fishing for survival. She emphasised that if the government provided land, they could engage in agriculture. Without land for farming, the community struggles to meet basic needs such as food and clothing. Vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, children, and the elderly, are forced to fish, collect gravel, carry sand and take on other labour-intensive jobs to survive.

Due to the lack of land for farming, fishing remains their primary means of sustenance, a traditional livelihood passed down through generations. Geeta also expressed concern about the future, as the hydroelectric project threatens to displace them, leaving the community uncertain about their next steps. She said that since the government launched the public housing programme, people without land in their names, like her community, have not benefited from it. Now, as the cold winter months of December and January set in, they are forced to endure freezing conditions in temporary shelters.

Meanwhile, the lack of funds for food and school supplies is preventing children in the community from attending school. Despite their desire to send their children to school, financial constraints make it difficult for them to do so regularly.

The government and relevant authorities seem indifferent to the plight of these marginalised people, who have relied on fishing for generations. The government’s failure to address the needs of impoverished communities, particularly in terms of capacity building, skill development and adequate housing, has left the Badi community in a vulnerable position. Without government support, their ancestral livelihood is no longer enough to sustain them. Local governments have shown little interest in addressing the situation of those living along the riverbanks, leaving them in distress.