Dil Bahadur Majhi and his wife Suntali struggled to build a hut in their ancestral village of Ratnawati in Phikkal Rural Municipality-6, Sindhuli. After devastating floods from the Sunkoshi River swept away their house and rice field on September 28, the Majhi couple, along with their three children, took shelter in their relative’s house for about three weeks. The disaster destroyed all their possessions – the house, the oat field and other possessions.

“How long should we stay in our relative’s house?” says Suntali. “The flooded Sunkoshi swept away our house and four ropani of land. We have nothing left now and the authorities have not supported us for our rehabilitation.”

There was a pile of sand and stones where their house had been before the floods. The Majhi couple leveled the land, gathered some wood and made a hut with a roof made of plastic and green tree branches. The slim lodge is about 20 meters from the Sunkoshi River.

The Majhi are an indigenous community living mostly in the hill districts of Bagmati province. They have their own language, culture and tradition. The Majhi community is economically marginalized and backward. They live near the banks of the river and earn their living by boating and fishing.

“Our ancestors stayed here (Ratnawati) for many generations,” says Dil Bahadur. “In the past, there were no such big floods in the river. The flooded river this year took everything we had. We celebrated Dashain with the help distributed by various organizations and by begging from the neighbors. But how can we survive now? If the government gives us money to build a house, we can do anything and get by.”

Baburam Mishra of Sumtambeshi in Phikkal-2 was distraught after floods swept away his paddy field. “We bought three ropanies of land seven years ago at the price of Rs 1.7 crore,” says Mishra. “I still have some loans that I took back then to purchase the rice. What are we eating now and how can I pay off the loan?”

His paddy field has now turned into a bed of sand.

“We could grow three crops in a year,” laments Mishra. “Around 18 muris of paddy (about 1,100 kg) were cultivated in the field in one season. The floods made us poor.”

Hundreds of farmers were affected after floods from the Sunkoshi River swept away or destroyed paddy fields from Khurkot to Ghurmi in September last week. Floods triggered by heavy rains wreaked havoc in the area, displacing many people.

Hom Kumai Pahadi from Sunambesi and her husband lost their only son a few years ago; her daughter was married. “We had a good paddy field where we could grow around 12 muris (about 720 kg) of rice in a season,” says Pahadi. “The daughter was married and the son died. Our livelihood was supported by the rice field. The floods swept away the paddy field. We have no alternative but to urge the government to live now.”

According to government data, a total of 857 hectares of paddy fields were damaged by the floods in Sindhuli district. The rural municipalities of Phikkal and Golanjor were the worst affected.

The situation of people affected by floods and landslides is the same in Kavre, another hill district of Bagmati province. It has been almost four weeks since the disasters caused by the rains occurred, but almost all the victims are still languishing on the move. Displaced people are now taking shelter in the homes of their relatives and neighbors, while others are renting rooms after floods and landslides destroyed their homes.

Saila Tamang of Bimire in Namobuddha-11 Municipality was hopeful that the government would help him after a landslide destroyed his house. “We rebuilt the house after the 2015 earthquake destroyed the old one,” says Tamang. “The landslide destroyed it again. My wife is sick with a heart disease. The land I have is prone to landslides. I have no safer land and no money to build the house.”

According to Tamang, his wife is currently receiving treatment at the Kathmandu Medical College in Sinamagal, Kathmandu. “About 20,000 lei have already been spent. I don’t know how much money we need for her treatment,” he says, adding that he came to the village when he heard that some organizations were distributing aid.

Displaced people complain that all three levels of government seem reluctant to provide immediate relief and manage their rehabilitation. According to Chief District Officer Kavre Umesh Kumar Dhakal, the district administration office has decided to provide Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 to each displaced family as immediate relief for managing food and shelter. But most of the victims have not yet received the aid announced.

Disasters caused by rains wreaked havoc in several districts of the country in the last week of September. Bagmati and Koshi provinces were worst affected by floods and landslides. Kathmandu Valley, Kavre, Ramechhap, Sindhuli, Dolakha and Dhading districts were badly affected as floods from several rivers and landslides destroyed homes and public infrastructure including roads, offices, drinking water projects and utility poles.

The government has declared dozens of local units in 14 worst-hit districts as “disaster crisis zones” with the goals of speeding up rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction efforts. However, relief and rehabilitation work has not been carried out effectively, leaving hundreds of displaced families to fend for themselves.