By Our Correspondent

SARLAHI, July 31: Now that the rains have stopped in Sarlahi in Central Nepal, the real situation and the plight of the people are beginning to be known.

Garba Majhi, 77, of Belhi Village Development Committee of Sarlahi, said that he saved himself by climbing a tree and staying there all night. He said he had never imagined that the Lakhandehi River would enter the village. “Such an incident has never taken place in the last seven decades.” He saw the flood sweeping away the whole village.

He said the villagers waited for eight days, but when no relief came and no one contacted them, people began to leave the village.

The village used to have 550 families, but the floods have swept away much of the village. There is no land for even half the families.

The landowners have no land. More than 800 bighas of pristine agriculture land have been irreparably damaged. The river has changed its course, and it has begun to flow from the middle of the village. The gravelled road has ceased to exist. Areas which were not swept away have turned into swamps, and people have to walk through the swamp to go from one house to another.

Former VDC Chairman Ramchandra Raya lost 12 bighas of land. He said the villagers have fled and he, too, was going to his relatives after losing everything to the rains. He complained that not only did the relief materials not arrive, no one set foot there to see how things were.

Former minister Rameshwore Raya said that with the river flowing through the village the situation of Belhi and other villages like Sisautiya, Madhuban, Godhaita, Ramban, Bagdaha and others face a grave situation.

He said that if the administration had only distributed food, it would have been a big relief to the people. “But the administration failed to make contacts here.”

Administrative officer at the District Administration Office Gopal Krishna Koirala admitted that relief teams failed to reach Belhi. He said Belhi is probably the most affected VDC. He said it was not that the administration was unconcerned, the relief operations were not coordinated properly.

In neighbouring Udaypur district, the damage caused by the recent floods has been estimated at Rs. 25.3 million.

The District Police Office said floods have eroded a large tract of agricultural land. Many people have lost their homes, property and goats, pigs and cattle in the floods and landslides. The floods have also damaged the development projects and infrastructure, the police said.

Chief District Officer Sitaram Pokharel said that the government rescue teams have been divided into three groups according to the topography of the district. They have been despatched to the affected villages with relief materials such as tents, utensils, foodstuffs and Rs.175,000 in cash to be provided to the victims.