Pregnant women, new mothers spend nights under tents

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

Ilam, Oct. 27: On the night of October 4, Gayatri Shiwa woke up to a loud noise. Startled, she grabbed her five-month-old daughter. Within moments, a sudden flood swept away half of her house.

She ran outside in the middle of heavy rain, lightning and strong winds. In the darkness, she had no idea where to go. Neighbours rescued her and took her to the nearby Maibhagawati Elderly Home.

At daybreak, Gayatri saw that her home and many others in the Tapu (island) area had disappeared. Mud, uprooted trees and debris had covered everything. “I looked around and wondered where everyone had gone,” she said. “A few neighbours had gathered, but I couldn’t find my family members. It felt like a dream,” she said. 

Now, Siwa lives in a tent with her baby, who is suffering from a fever and a bad cough. “We spend nights with just one blanket. Dew drops from the tent, making our bedding wet. I don’t even have enough warm clothes for my child,” she said.

This is not just a story of Siwa. She and other survivors are living only on relief materials. As many families cook meals together, Gayatri is not getting enough nutritious food to feed her baby. 

“We eat whatever we find, thin lentils, nettle greens and rice,” she said. “We used to earn a living by crushing stones, but the flood swept away our home. Now, we have nothing.” With Gayatri lives Deepa Shiwa, a seven-month pregnant woman. Her doctor had asked her to come for a follow-up, but she has not been able to reach the hospital.

“My hands and feet are going numb, and the cold is getting worse,” she said. 

“In the day, we sit in the sun, but at night, dew drops inside the tent and it becomes freezing cold,” she said, adding, “Many pregnant women, new mothers and young children are falling sick. Relief goods have some clothes for adults, but almost nothing for small children.”

Another survivor, Bishnu Shiwa, said that the lack of nutritious food is badly affecting infants, pregnant women, new mothers and sick individuals. 

Families in this area depended on stone-crushing for income, but now they have lost both their homes and their jobs.

“We used to earn about three thousand rupees from one truck of gravel,” she said. “That paid our rent, our food and our children’s needs. Now, everything is gone. We have no shoes, no warm clothes and lack basic amenities.”

Jagat Nembang, a local, said 26 houses in the Tapu area were washed away and 10 more were buried in mud.

Across the district, the situation is similar. As winter begins, the elderly, children, pregnant women, new mothers and chronically ill people are suffering the most. Floods and landslides have forced many families to leave their homes.

According to  Ilam District Administration Office, 39 people died in landslides so far, and one is still missing. 

A total of 336 houses have been completely destroyed and 828 have been partially damaged. A total of 11 families are living in community buildings and 438 families are staying with relatives or neighbours.