Shanti Bazaar (Gorkha), October 12
Buddhiprasad Dhakal, 60, of Ward No. 7 of Gangajamuna Rural Municipality in Dhading was milking his buffalo on Sunday morning when he suddenly heard a loud rumbling sound. He checked his mobile phone and saw an SMS warning people to remain alert because of flooding in the Budhi Gandaki River.
He immediately climbed onto a raised embankment near his house and looked towards the river. Floodwaters were surging through the area. As he watched, Shanti Bazaar in Gorkha, across the river from his home, was devastated.
Recalling the incident to Onlinekhabar on Monday morning, Dhakal said, “While I was milking the buffalo, the Ganga (Budhi Gandaki) began roaring. The flood was just like the one in the Bhotekoshi. It caused devastation at around 8 am.”
According to him, the first surge caused little damage, but the second swept away houses and sheds.
The sudden mud-laden flood disrupted life in Shanti Bazaar, where residents had lived peacefully along the Budhi Gandaki River. They managed to escape, but could not save their livestock.
Residents have since moved to higher ground and are staying in temporary shelters built on terraced farmland. When the Onlinekhabar team visited on Monday morning, locals were levelling the fields to prepare shelters. Relief distribution was also underway with support from the rural municipality.
According to residents, Shanti Bazaar had around 30–40 houses and sheds. All were buried in mud or swept away by the flood. Only one or two houses remain visibly intact.
Dhakal said the area had been an open field until around three decades ago. People who moved down from higher elevations gradually built houses there, and the settlement came to be known as Shanti Bazaar.
The area was also affected by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Residents rebuilt their homes through their own efforts, only for the flood to devastate the settlement again. Dhakal said the river has also changed its course.
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