Before the August 26 Bhotekoshi floods, travelling from Kathmandu to Dalphedi in ward 1 of Gosainkunda Rural Municipality, Rasuwa, took a day and cost around Rs1,000, including transport and food. Now the journey takes three days and costs about Rs10,000.
The floods washed away roads and bridges, devastated settlements and caused heavy loss of life in Timure. Those who survived must now contend with the physical and financial costs of returning to the places they once called home.
Displaced residents have begun leaving temporary shelters to return to their villages, but damaged roads, destroyed bridges and inflated transport fares stand in their way. Many now pay more than the previous fares to reach Dhunche before walking for three days to Dalphedi.
Dinman Tamang, a ward member (elected local official), said only those who could afford the journey were able to return. Displaced residents who had spent weeks in Kathmandu, Nuwakot, and Dhunche were now trying to scrape together enough money to go home, he said.
“Displaced people are returning to their villages. They cannot afford to keep staying in Kathmandu, Nuwakot, or Dhunche for long. But getting to Dalphedi costs at least Rs10,000,” he said. “More people are returning as they manage to arrange the money.”
Travellers take a vehicle from Kathmandu to Dhunche, then walk for three days, spending nights in Bahundanda and Chilime along the way, Tamang said.
“Everyone who is away wants to return home for Dashain, but the journey has become expensive. A basic meal at a hotel costs Rs450,” he said. “Some people still cannot return because they don’t have enough money. Those who can afford it have already left.”
He said travel would become easier only after bridges were rebuilt at Syafrubesi, Runga, and Timure. Of the 58 households in Dalphedi, 48 are currently living there.
Relief supplies had initially been delivered to the village by helicopter, but aid is now being sent in coordination with social organisations, he said. Before the floods, residents had earned a living by working in Timure. With those opportunities gone, they are uncertain about how to support themselves.
Residents are currently using a cable crossing installed at Chilime to reach their village.
Damaged roads, inflated fares
People heading home for Dashain are struggling not only with absence of roads and bridges but also with transport operators charging steep fares. In Amachhodingmo Rural Municipality, which remains disconnected from the national road network, dwindling relief supplies are adding to the hardship. Thousands of rupees’ worth of cabbage, ready for sale, is also at risk of rotting.
Nabaraj Ghimire, headteacher of Dandagaun Secondary School at ward 2 of Uttargaya Rural Municipality, experienced the difficulties first-hand when he travelled to Kathmandu on Saturday.
The August 26 floods washed away roads, bridges and sections of the main highway, turning what was once a relatively easy journey into an exhausting trip.
“Previously, it took four hours by public transport or two and a half hours by private vehicle or motorbike to reach Kathmandu. Now the journey takes 12 hours,” Ghimire said. “The road is extremely difficult, with only a rough track in some places, and fares have become exorbitant. A journey that used to cost Rs500 now costs Rs2,000.”
Public transport services to Dandagaun resumed only four days ago, he said. During the first two days, operators charged as much as Rs3,500. The ward office subsequently intervened and capped the fare at Rs2,000.
Reaching Dandagaun now requires taking a route through Galchhi in Dhading and Taksar and Samari Bhanjyang in Nuwakot before continuing to Kispang. Another option is to travel to the Nuwakot district headquarters, wait for hours to cross a river by cable and then walk for several more hours.
Prithvi Adhikari, a student from ward 7 of Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot who studies in Kathmandu, was preparing to return home on Saturday after his college closed for Dashain. His journey, which previously took around two hours and cost Rs300, now requires six to seven hours and costs Rs1,000.
Nirajan Poudel of Sole in ward 7 of Bidur Municipality recently travelled home to complete paperwork with the local government related to support for flood victims and displaced families. He said he had to wait for hours in a queue to cross the river by cable.
“I crossed the river by cable and walked for two hours to reach the village. On my way back, I again had to wait for hours,” he said. “Vehicles are available from the village, but the driver asked for Rs2,000. I decided it was better to wait in the queue to cross the river by tuin.”
Poudel lost his father, mother, uncle, aunt and cousin in the Bhotekoshi flood.
Tuku Prasad Subedi, ward 2 chair of Uttargaya Rural Municipality and a resident of Dandagaun, said public buses were charging Rs2,200 for the journey between the village and Kathmandu.
“The journey is extremely difficult and unreasonably expensive,” he said. “Vehicles have only recently started operating, and people have started returning home for Dashain, but the road remains in very poor condition.”
Since the floods, local shops have run out of food. Affected residents are relying on relief supplies, Subedi said.
“Under the current circumstances, it is almost impossible to get supplies,” he said. “A journey that used to cost Rs500 now costs more than Rs2,000. Traders are reluctant to bring goods here because they have to find a way to transport and sell them.”
Rasuwa's Chief District Officer Kamal Prasad Pandey said work was under way to reconnect settlements cut off by damaged roads and that authorities were monitoring complaints of fair gouging.
“We are working to reconnect villages that have been cut off from the road network, and we are monitoring reports of overcharging where vehicles have resumed services,” he said. “With the festival approaching, we will step up monitoring.”
He said life in Amachhodingmo would start returning to normalcy only after road access was restored.
Prakash Tamang, an elected local representative from Hakubesi in Amachhodingmo Rural Municipality, said residents were likely to face difficulties until a Bailey bridge was installed. Before the floods, Hakubesi could be reached from Kathmandu in a day. Now, the journey is both longer and more expensive.
“Some displaced residents are staying in Kathmandu and Dhunche. Vehicles still cannot reach Hakubesi, and there are no goods to buy in the village shops,” he said. “Relief supplies have been limited, and much of the aid is still in Dhunche.”
With the village itself largely swept away, few displaced residents are expected to return immediately, he said. Around 300 people are currently living in the village area.
Dawa Lama, spokesperson for Amachhodingmo Rural Municipality, said the installation of a Bailey bridge at Betrawati would make travel somewhat easier.
“After crossing the river by cable, people should find it easier to travel by vehicle to and from Syaphrubesi,” he said.
The rural municipality is also preparing to build a suspension bridge to transport food and other supplies across the river, he added.
Displaced families wait for access home
Kippa Tamang from ward 2 of Gosainkunda Rural Municipality has been staying at Mustang Monastery in Kathmandu since the August floods. She is among 225 people sheltering at the monastery. All are waiting for the roads to be restored before returning home.
“There is a settlement called Khaidi above Timure. If the road is rebuilt, we will live there. We have land and can farm,” she said. “We want to return to our own place and find a way to make a living.”
Before the floods, residents had relied on jobs and businesses in Timure when the Rasuwagadhi border crossing was operational.
Vehicles began operating between Nuwakot and Rasuwa on Sunday after the Nepali Army helped install a Bailey bridge over the Phalakhu Khola, which forms part of the boundary between the two districts.
The bridge had been washed away, severing road connectivity between the districts in the August 26 floods. The distance from Dhunge Bazaar to Betrawati, near the district boundary, is around 10 kilometres.