KATHMANDU, July 19: Deepak Tamang’s family has been living in Larcha, Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality-3, for eight or nine generations. His house clings to the hillside, with the roaring Bhotekoshi River flowing below. The nearby Bhairav Kunda stream surges violently every monsoon season.
Tamang’s house is in the throes of danger—landslides, the Bhotekoshi River, and the Bhairav Kunda stream are all risks to their survival. He knows his home is in danger, but he hasn’t been able to leave.
“I know the house is at risk. I get scared when the weather turns bad,” says Tamang. “But where would we go? This is the only shelter we have.” It’s not just his house—72 other households in Larcha are living in similar danger. “We eat in one place, work all day, and sleep somewhere else,” he explains.
Recently, tents have been set up in safer places where people can spend the night during the monsoon. Most of the residents of nearby Larcha Bazaar also sleep in tents. In 2020, a flood caused extensive damage to the entire Larcha settlement. “We’ve been living like this since then,” Tamang says.
After the flood, the relocation of all 72 households was proposed. “We submitted documents for all 72 houses to the district office,” Tamang recalls. “They said they’d call us. But we haven’t heard back since.”
Since then, the residents haven’t been able to relocate on their own. “Even if we wanted to leave, where and how would we go? If we go and just build a house, what would we eat, what would we wear?” Tamang laments. According to him, some Larcha residents have moved to a nearby area called Gumba Danda. “But buying land there costs around Rs 200,000 per aana, and a plot can cost Rs 800,000 to 900,000. Where would we get that big amount of money?” he questions.
The people of Larcha have not refrained from raising demands and complaints with the government—they are simply exhausted from doing so. “How many times can we say the same thing?” says Tamang. “Once or twice is enough. We’re tired of going to the ward, the rural municipality, and the district offices.”
Swollen rivers threaten riverside settlements in Jhapa
Whenever the District Administration Office (DAO), Sindhupalchok, issues a flood alert, concern grips Durga Prasad Bhandari, a longtime resident of Barhabise Bazaar, located along the banks of the Bhotekoshi River in Bahrabise Municipality.
Bhandari has learned his lessons from disasters like the Jure landslide and the earthquake, both of which devastated areas near the Bhotekoshi. These experiences have made him deeply aware of the potential dangers of floods. “I constantly fear that a flood could wipe out the whole settlement,” he says.
Yet, Bhandari has no alternative. “We know the settlement is at risk. But where can we go?” he says, “Leaving our homes is not an option. We don’t have anywhere else to live.”
The municipality has created a Viber group to share disaster information, and the administration sends out flood alerts. Once the alert is issued, the Viber group spreads the information quickly. But after receiving the alert, locals are left unsure about where to go. Locals with homes at high risk often head to open and safer spaces, even during heavy rainfall, despite lacking proper shelter.
Bhandari wishes the government would relocate the at-risk settlements. “But there are so many of them. How can the government possibly accommodate everyone?” he says, caught in a conflict between hope and realism. “Even if relocated, it’s not guaranteed that people could actually live comfortably there.”
On the other side of the Sunkoshi River, in the tourist town of Sukute, hotel entrepreneur Anjan Khadka shares similar concerns. He has been running his business there for 10 years. His family’s livelihood depends on his establishment.
“Tourists come to see the Sunkoshi River. It’s those tourists who sustain our business—and our home,” Khadka says, “How can we just abandon the business that feeds our family? If only the government could provide proper flood-control measures, we could live in safety. Otherwise, the river that sustains our home might one day take our lives.”
He remains on alert during monsoon season. “If the administration issues a warning, we leave with the whole family. People from higher areas like Tatopani, Bahrabise, and Khadichaur also keep us informed when the river swells upstream. Based on that, we prepare ourselves,” Khadka says. But he also acknowledges that such measures are not enough to protect physical property.
He urges action from all three levels of government. “We’ve paid taxes to operate our business. Just because floods may come for four months doesn’t mean we should sit idle for the remaining eight,” he insists. “The government must ensure our safety. A settlement protection plan must be implemented. Early warning sirens should be installed.”
He has urged that all three tiers of government should take action on this matter. “We have paid taxes to the state to run our businesses,” he said. “Therefore, the government must ensure our safety. A settlement protection plan should be implemented. Early warning sirens must be installed.”
The Bhotekoshi River flows into Nepal via Nyalam in China's Tibetan region. When there is heavy rainfall in the Nyalam area, there is a high risk of flooding in Nepal. During such rainfall, Chinese authorities have been informing their Nepali counterparts about the potential danger. Based on that information, the DAO, Sindhupalchok, issued alerts urging caution along the banks of the Bhotekoshi and Sunkoshi rivers.
22 settlements and 850 families at risk
According to the DAO, 22 settlements and 850 families along the Bhotekoshi and Sunkoshi riverbanks are currently at risk. These include: Tatopani, Kodari, Larcha, Hindi, Khukundol, Liping, Chaku, Barhabise Bazaar, Jambu, Khagdal, Baseri, Sakhuwā, Jure, Kallery, Sunkori, Sunkoshi, Pagretar, Khadichaur Kothe, Balefi, and Sukute.
Daily coordination between Nepal and China
Sindhupalchok’s Chief District Officer Kiran Thapa says that daily coordination is taking place between officials from Nepal and China for disaster forecasting and risk mitigation.
“We are in regular contact and discussions with our counterparts at the Tatopani checkpoint,” he says. “I personally maintain daily communication with Chinese officials across the border. They provide us with weather updates from their side, and we prepare accordingly.”
Since Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology cannot monitor cross-border weather conditions, the administration relies on information from Chinese authorities.
When the administration receives reports of heavy rainfall on the Chinese side, it relocates riverside residents to safer areas, clears roads, and initiates other emergency actions.
Superintendent of Police Rameshwar Karki at the District Police Office, Sindhupalchok, said that all police units in the district have been equipped with essential emergency supplies in case of disaster.
