Homes lost, dreams alive: Parbat’s Farse waits to rebuild

PARBAT: Until a few days ago, there were houses, barns, farmland and children playing in Farse in Parbat district. Today, the Kaligandaki River flows through much of the area, leaving behind little more than debris and memories.

The flood of September 27 in Farse, Jaljala Rural Municipality-8 of Parbat, has upended the lives of dozens of families. Houses built through years of hard work, accumulated possessions and livestock raised with care were swept away by the raging river.

Nirmala Sapkota’s family from Dhodeni, Ratnechaur-1 of Beni Municipality, had been living in Farse for years. With good transport links and easy access to markets for agricultural produce, the family had made the settlement its home and workplace.

Once considered financially well-off in the community, Nirmala now says her family has been reduced to nothing.

“Although our ancestral home is in Ratnechaur, we had built a well-managed house in Farse and were living comfortably,” she said. “The flood swept away everything except the clothes we were wearing and the livestock in the barn. The most important thing is that our lives were spared.”

There is pain in Nirmala’s voice, but also a determination to rebuild. “I now understand that all we need to survive is food, shelter, clothing and bedding,” she said.

The story of Bishnukumari Hamal’s family is similar. The family moved from Dhairing to Farse for business and had built four houses there. Her husband, Dil Bahadur Chhetri, operated the Shiva Vegetable and Animal Husbandry Farm, which produced milk.

“We had even installed solar panels at the cowshed so we could bathe the cows and buffaloes with hot water,” Bishnu said. “Now the Kaligandaki is flowing through the place where our well-equipped house once stood. We have nothing left but to look at old photographs and remember what we had.”

Around 100 families in Farse have been affected by flooding in the Kaligandaki following continuous rainfall. According to Jaljala Rural Municipality, 75 houses have been completely washed away, while another 27 are at risk.

A total of 129 women, 144 men and eight children under five from the 75 displaced families have been affected. Deepak Acharya, vice-chair of the rural municipality, said families who have no alternative homes and cannot stay with relatives have been accommodated in temporary camps with assistance from security agencies.

“Although their lives were saved, many are still struggling with the pain of losing homes and property accumulated through years of hard work,” Acharya said.

Early warning helped save lives

Sangita Sharma of Farse still vividly remembers the night of Asoj 20. Residents had remained alert for several days after warnings of heavy rainfall, but few had imagined that the Kaligandaki would enter the settlement with such force.

At around midnight, members of the Farse Youth Club issued an alert using a loudspeaker. Sangita and many other families immediately left their homes and headed for safer areas.

“We went out onto the road at around 2:00 am wearing only the clothes we had on and getting soaked in the rain,” she said. “There were jewellery, food, clothes, furniture, utensils, cash and important documents in the house, but we had only enough time to save our lives.”