Four-story house collapses in Gorkha due to continuous rain

Gorkha. Around 11 am on Monday, July 18, amidst continuous rain, a sound like something breaking suddenly came from the house of Mansingh Gurung in Laxmibazar, Gorkha Municipality-9. A few seconds later, as the courtyard cracked, the paved stones broke, and the brick walls started to peel off, Mansingh, his wife Chitrakumari, and their two-year-old grandson ran towards the road in panic. The electricity wire hanging from the pole to the house snapped, and in a moment, their four-story house collapsed entirely from the foundation. 'The house collapsed in a few minutes, I couldn't think of anything, I felt like I lost my senses,' said 59-year-old Mansingh Gurung. Mansingh, who had migrated from Thulo Dipling, Sahid Lakhan Rural Municipality-1, had bought the plot of land in 2066 BS by saving from his service in the Nepal Police and earnings from foreign employment. He then built a four-story house spending 7.7 million rupees immediately after the earthquake in 2074 BS. The house, built within 10 years of its construction by spending his life's earnings, collapsed from the foundation, also damaging the house of his neighbor Kisandev. Although the contractor who was living on rent inside the house was inside when it collapsed, fortunately, there was no human casualty. However, 53-year-old Chitrakumari, who witnessed the collapse of the house, has not yet recovered from that terrifying situation. 'It's been 17-18 years since we came here, we lived on rent for many years, and finally, with hardship, we built our own house,' said Chitrakumari. 'Something unthinkable happened today, seeing the house collapse before my eyes, I can't think of anything, may no one suffer such hardship.' The Gurung family is currently taking shelter in the house of local Santabahadur Gurung. The army, police, and locals have retrieved some important documents, furniture, and clothes from the collapsed house. Mansingh complained that their dire situation was caused by the negligence of the state in building the culvert. He stated that the state should take responsibility for the family being displaced due to minor mistakes in development construction. The Gorkha Municipality has provided immediate cash assistance of 25,000 rupees to the victim family, and Ward Chairman Kulbahadur Kunwar has provided 50,000 rupees. The Chief Administrative Officer of Gorkha Municipality, Ekdev Khanal, said that 400,000 rupees can be provided through the District Disaster Management Committee for rehabilitation. Various organizations have also provided them with food assistance.