‘Where are you?’ A friend asked on the telephone in the morning.
“I’m going to the office,” he said as he was riding a motorcycle.
After a while, the phone rang again. I had reached the office at that time.
‘Let’s meet’ friend’s proposal.
‘Yes. So, where? ‘
“Come here. We have a couple of friends. And we will advise. ‘
I arrived There were also some leaders, activists and well-wishers.
“Immediate relief and rescue operations were needed in the flood-affected areas of Kailali,” he said.
“It simply came to our notice then. However, a positive message was heard inside the hall that donations should not be collected.
How much money should be demanded from any person for any work done in the name of social service before this? I was just listening to the positive thinking of the young people there.
Someone asked, “How can you give a big relief without collecting donations?”
“Let’s pick it up ourselves!” 10 thousand on my behalf, ‘announced a young man at the beginning.
Then there was silence for a while.
“50,000 on my behalf,” said another youth.
After that, one after the other, according to Gaksha, support was announced.
‘I’ll pay four thousand,’ said a teenager next to me. She opened the bag, pulled out a note with four elephants, and handed it to her.
Abir was staring at the money. Probably the money that came in the tenth as Dakshina. It was later learned that she had paid for the relief of the flood victims by deducting the expenses of going to Sauraha.
In an instant, enough money was raised immediately. A truck carrying water, noodles, chewing gum, biscuits and armor with the same amount reached Tikapur on Wednesday.
It was challenging to deliver the relief materials led by the CPN-UML-affiliated National Youth Union and the UNRWA to the real victims. Even before this, I had written the news many times that someone understood relief but no one received it. It was in my mind not to have to write news like that.
The youths were eager to return the materials purchased with their own money to the real victims.
The flood-hit area was about 100 kilometers from Dhangadhi in Kailali. However, the road was damaged by the floods in some places.
“It simply came to our notice then. “Everyone may not get it,” said Kishore Shah, president of UNHCR Kailali. “Let’s distribute it tomorrow morning.”
Ganesh Mahara, president of the youth association Kailali, said the same. He was also adamant that the real victims should get relief. All belongings were unloaded at the Mountain Hotel in the flood-affected area.
The postal road in Karnali had been washed away by the flood waters. We were in turn. There were victims on the other side. It was not possible to go there immediately.
“This is the dragon’s habitat,” said a local. Thorns grew on my body.
‘There may be other venomous snakes in the place where the dragon lives. Which may have been swept away by the floods, ”he added. I became conscious.
The locals were shining bright lights from the area till late at night. Karnali was falling on the road. What is the condition of the settlement when the river is flowing on the road? One could only guess.
“Maybe they signaled for us to be saved,” I told others.
“No one can go there now, sir. This is the dragon’s habitat, ”said the man. I felt cold in my heart.
I contacted Prakash Sapkota, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Area Police Office, Tikapur.
DSP said they are safe. We were relieved when the police arrived.
Some youths returned to Dhangadhi on Wednesday saying they would meet on Thursday morning. We stayed there.
On Thursday morning, he met with the president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, Yogesh Rawal, and another journalist, Ekendra Timilsena.
He also said that the condition of the flood victims was critical.
Even at that time, the gesture of a bright light was moving in front of my eyes. Again, the DSP’s words calmed my mind.
We all gathered at the same place at 9 o’clock on Thursday morning.
Fortunately, Karnali’s speed had slowed down in the morning when the postal road was flooded. But it did not stop.
As there were enough youths and students, a truck reached the relief settlement in a short time. We were carrying women and children who could not cross the Karnali River on the road with some belongings.
The fact that it was the dragon’s abode at night when I was swimming in Karnali was chilling my mind. At that time, the small, fine stones and leaf moths that came crashing down on the feet would make a living.
A truck crossed the relief. By that time, dozens of families had reached there in the hope of relief. They were expressing their pain of not even being able to drink water.
“I have a baby. I and it have not eaten anything. ‘ The woman, carrying a baby in her arms and holding the other in her arms, was saying, “I saved the baby.” Nothing is the same. ‘
She stopped talking. Then she started doing ‘Sukk-Sukk ..’
“Don’t cry,” said the youth consolingly. First of all, she was relieved. In an instant, his face changed.
‘The hungry stomach got food. Blessed are you, ‘she said, and went on her way.
After that, relief began to reach those who were trapped and displaced in different places. There must have been some relief after the noodles, arms, biscuits and rain fell on the hungry stomach for a while. We were guessing.
There is more satisfaction, happiness and joy in reaching the destination than in winning the battle when you finish the whole bottle of water with a sighing sound and then you see a faint smile on your dirty face.
The baby, who was less than a month old, was snuggled in his lap and his parents, who had been hungry for two days, were heartbroken.
We were also overwhelmed by the pain we saw in the settlement after the water level receded. Fear, terror and pain that had been raging for two days were reflected in the victim’s face.
“My son has not been able to drink water since yesterday,” said local Gita Chaudhary while understanding the relief. But they did not give us water. ‘
There were many like him. Hundreds have become homeless. Crops planted by thousands have been destroyed. Some have eaten stale food. Some are spending the night without food. Someone’s house is flooded. Someone is broken.
Most of those who are homeless and dependent on the streets, including livestock, are starving. They were expressing their happiness as if something big had happened when they got noodles, chiura, bhuja and water.
For a while, the joy of being able to starve was reflected in their faces, not in their words.
There was no feeling of fatigue even while distributing relief to about 200 families throughout the day. Because before their pain, our fatigue had no meaning.
That relief quenched the immediate hunger of the citizens of a settlement. Their diary is the same even then.
Even now they have not been able to return home. On the one hand, he is suffering from hunger and on the other hand, he is afraid of contracting various diseases.
Not only Tikapur area of Kailali. The floods have also affected Bhajani Janaki and Kailari villages.
Farmers are also worried about how to meet their needs this year after the floods destroyed them. In such a situation, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has inspected the flood affected area. What does the government, which spends millions on helicopter rides, including two ministers and party leaders, do for the victims’ food, shelter and cotton? That remains to be seen.
This blog is dedicated to the youth who think that the government should do something good and move ahead instead of keeping silent.
