OKHALDHUNGA: Five households are at high risk as a landslide that has been continuously slipping from below Dandakharka village in Siddicharan Municipality-5 for two decades remains unmanaged.
The expanding landslide, triggered by continuous erosion from the Sisne River, forces local residents to live in fear. A decade and a half ago, after a landslide completely destroyed his house and farmland in Chuplu village within the same ward, local resident Rai Bahadur Rai fled to Dandakharka.
He endured hardships to build a new home in Dandakharka, but history is repeating itself. Today, the massive landslide driven by river erosion has reached his doorstep. “Back then, a landslide displaced me from Chuplu, so I built a house here to save my life; now, that home is on the verge of being swept away,” says victim Rai Bahadur.
“The landslide slides continuously, whether in winter or during the monsoon. I have nowhere else to go, nor can I sleep through the night.”
The Dandakharka landslide has destroyed more than homes; it has turned fertile agricultural land built over years of hard work into barren slopes. Hundreds of square meters of arable land have already been lost. With their fields washed away, farmers are deeply concerned about their livelihoods.
Local resident Birkaji Rai warns that if the landslide is not contained in time, it will endanger not just the five immediate households, but the entire settlement. “The village sits directly at the head of the landslide, putting another 40 households at risk,” he explains. “Had barriers or embankments been built initially, this crisis could have been prevented.”
Residents have sought assistance from local, provincial, and federal governments to mitigate the landslide. However, local express frustration that lack of effective action has heightened the danger.
Landslide victims lament that despite losing hundreds of square meters of land, they are still required to pay property taxes to the state while receiving no relief or mitigation support in return.
“The landslide swept away our land, yet we continue to pay land tax for property that no longer exists,” says fellow victim Gita Maya Rai. “Meanwhile, the government has neither contained the landslide nor provided relief programs for victims.”
The situation in Dandakharka reflects a broader issue across Okhaldhunga District, where major landslides have plagued dozens of locations for decades, causing distress to residents every monsoon.
Timely intervention by local, provincial, and federal governments is essential to implement long-term technical solutions, safely relocate affected families, and safeguard their livelihoods.
