Taplejung, July 8
Twenty-three families have been marooned in a jungle after the Ghunsa Stream swept away a bridge at Lelep VDC, Taplejung district.
Himali Chundak Sherpa, a local, said 15 of the marooned families are from Ghunsa and eight are from Fale. They were heading to graze their Yak when the flooded stream swept the bridge away on Thursday morninng.
Sherpa said: With the bridge gone, we are finding it difficult to rush supplies to the marooned people. He said the stream swept away the bridge located at Lapuk, which lies on the way to the Kanchanjungha Himal Base Camp from Ghunsa.
Sherpa said: Without the bridge, it is difficult to rescue the stranded people.
He said over the phone: We all went to the spot on Thursday afternoon. There’s no way we can rebuild the bridge. Moreover, for making a wooden bridge, we need people on either side of the stream. There’s no way we can do that because people have gone to the highlands to graze Yak. We have no means to contact them. They will return to the lowlands only to replenish their supplies.
On the highlands, there are sheds in Ramdang, Nupchuvelly and Thamdang. Some family members have gone to Khambachen for potato farming. During cattle grazing and farming seasons, two-three people from a family stay in sheds while others stay at home and other places. We require about six lakh rupees to build a wooden bridge, Sherpa said, adding: But we can build the bridge only after water level in the stream recedes.
