Lamki chuha: The Badi community residing in Balchaur of Lamki Chuha Municipality-3, Kailali, has been rendered almost homeless after their settlement was submerged by continuous monsoon rains. Dozens of families are now taking refuge with relatives and neighbors, struggling for basic survival.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the settlement, which comprises 71 houses, was built for landless Badi families who had migrated from various districts in Sudurpashchim, Karnali, and Lumbini provinces since 2064 BS. However, with 12 homes now completely underwater and others partially submerged, the situation has turned dire.
Rima Devi Badi, 33, shared that her family has been unable to cook or stay inside her wooden home since it flooded. She expressed concerns about safety, stating, “The water entered our house, and now snakes roam around. We’re terrified.” Rima, a daily wage earner, lost her husband in a canal accident months ago and is now raising three children alone. She added, “It’s hard to even go to work after the inundation. We have nothing left.”
Another local, Shanti Badi, highlighted the challenges they face, saying, “Water has filled our kitchen and surroundings. We can’t cook, and we have no proper toilets. Our small children are at constant risk of drowning in the water.”
The Badi residents mentioned that no assistance has been forthcoming from the state or other entities amid this crisis. The houses were constructed under a government initiative, but the lack of proper drainage systems leaves the area highly vulnerable to inundation.
Arjun Badi remarked, “We lost everything including food, clothes, and whatever little we had. We survive on daily wages, and now we can’t even go to work. We are struggling to manage two square meals for the families. Our children are living in misery.”
Flooding has become a recurring issue in the settlement that lies near the East-West Highway. Over the past year alone, four people, including two children, drowned in the nearby canal under the Ranijamara-Kuriya Irrigation Project.
The residents are now urging the government to take immediate action to prevent further loss and suffering. “We were promised safe housing,” one resident said. “But the settlement is not safe.”