Myagdi, August 18
Devastating Floods Force Closure of Classes in Kagbeni, After the flood caused damage to physical structures including buildings, classes at Jan Shanti Mavi in Waragung Mukti Kshetra Rural Municipality-4 Kagbeni of Mustang have been closed.
On the evening of Shrawan 28, the flood in Kagkhola washed away Jan Shanti Mavi, the ward office, police station, monastery, temple, road and bridge. In Kagbeni, the flood caused 29 houses to be completely damaged and 13 houses to be partially damaged.
According to Janashanti Mavi teacher Manveer Kisan, after the flood damaged the school’s playground, classrooms and dormitory building, he informed that in coordination with the rural municipality, teaching has been stopped until the 8th of Bhadra.
“Sand has piled up in buildings and playgrounds. The road is also muddy”, he said, “It is not possible to conduct teaching and learning in residential schools unless water, electricity, food and accommodation are managed.”
The flood destroyed two and a half storeys of the school and a two-room building used as a residence for teachers. There are 200 students in the dormitory of Jan Shanti Mavi, and 140 people have taken residential facilities.
Village chairman Rinjin Gurung informed us that work is going on to remove the frozen Gegyran from damaged houses, buildings and hotels in Kagbeni, to excavate valuables from the destroyed hotels and houses, and to identify and protect the homes and structures that have been completely flooded.
“Nepali army, armed police, Nepal police, people’s representatives, local residents and common people from neighbouring villages are doing the work of removing the sand”, he said, “the work is being done to supply water and electricity.”
Those displaced by the flood have been kept in the administrative, community and Jomsom community buildings of the rural municipality. Repair of the Jomsom-Korla road, which was blocked after the flood swept away the bridge and road, has been started.
“The road to the upper part of Mustang has been damaged in many places and traffic has been blocked. Jomsom-Korola road is blocked for traffic in at least three places. The Leyte-Jomsom section of lower Mustang is also blocked from time to time at Marfakhola”, said Beni-Jomsom-Korola road project chief Jagat Prajapati, “After removing the landslide in the lower section, work has started on the upper section.”
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A terrible flood surged through the calm village of Kagbeni in Mustang, causing a lot of damage. The floodwaters were caused by heavy rain and a landslide upstream. This resulted in homes, bridges, and important structures being destroyed.
On a fateful Sunday, the Kagbeni River turned from a calm stream into a destructive force. The river was blocked by a landslide upstream, causing it to burst its banks and flood the lower part of the village. This led to 29 homes being washed away and over 150 residents losing their homes.
The District Disaster Management Committee found out that a lot of destruction had happened. Apart from the lost homes, important infrastructure was also badly damaged. The floodwaters took away a bridge on the Jomsom-Korala road, a suspension bridge, 12 vehicles (including construction equipment), and three temporary bridges. Even a place where travelers stayed got buried under the flood.
Despite the chaos, the Kagbeni community showed strength and togetherness. People who lost their homes found shelter in office buildings and community halls. Others stayed with their relatives. The Chief District Officer, Anup KC, said that the timing of the disaster was lucky because it happened in the evening when most people were safe. However, the disaster left many hotel owners and workers with nowhere to stay. Taking care of these seasonal workers became hard, especially since they had financial problems getting back home.
As the floodwaters went down, the process of checking how much damage happened began. The Varagung Muktichhetra Rural Municipality-4, Kagbeni, was badly affected by the floods. Non-stop rain and a blocked Kagkhola river caused a lot of problems, washing away 20 houses, the police station, and many other buildings. At least 36 houses were damaged. Authorities and local representatives quickly started checking the damage and finding places for the displaced people to stay. The flood even stopped direct travel to Upper Mustang by washing away a temporary bridge in Kagbeni village and a concrete bridge that was being built to connect Jomsom-Korla.
The recent flood in Kagbeni shows how unpredictable and powerful nature can be. The community and authorities are working together to see how much damage happened, find places for people to stay, and plan how to get things back to normal. It’s clear that being ready for disasters and building up the strength to face them are really important. The people of Kagbeni are a great example of how strong and united humans can be in tough times. This shows their unwavering spirit that will surely help them rebuild their lives and village even better than before.
