GOPEN RAI
The 25 April earthquake can now unofficially be renamed the Sindhupalchok Tragedy, such was the scale of death and destruction in this district northeast of Kathmandu. Twelve other districts were devastated by the earthquake, too, but Sindhupalchok’s rolling hills, scenic rivers and stupendous mountains were the hardest hit.
It is also the district with one of the highest rates of out migration, which means that in village after village flattened two weeks ago, our reporters saw mostly women, children and the elderly picking up the pieces. This family (pic, above) of only a child and her grandparents retrieves what is left of their food from the ruins of their home in Falping Danda on Monday.
This ‘no-man’s land’ is now in ruins. Sindhupalchok’s migrant workers in Kathmandu, the Gulf and Malaysia were saved in the disaster, and will be sending home cash to rebuild. But the destruction will also amplify the push factor for more young men and women to leave.
The earthquake also erased geography, the outskirts of Kathmandu were as remote as northern Gorkha in terms of receiving relief supplies.