Dozens of Nepali villagers queued for days just to catch a ride on a makeshift zipline over the raging Trishuli river on Friday (September 4), more than a week after deadly flash floods wiped out all the surrounding bridges.
Among the many anxious villagers awaiting the harrowing ride over the swelling river waters is Sujana Sunar, who survived the initial flooding on August 26, when she was shopping at the Trishuli bazaar. But now she is anxious to get back to her chickens and buffalo at her home in the village of Kispang Nuwakot.
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"It has been a long time since I’ve been away from my village. While my house is still standing, many others in the village were destroyed. I survived, with a foot in my grave, and now I’m going back home," said Sujana, who had queued on Thursday (September 3) morning but failed to ride a zipline across.
According to Sujana, over 30 of her neighbours were swept away in the floods. But despite the sadness of the destruction, she said she would rather be home than homeless.
On Friday, she said she arrived early at around 5 a.m. and was confident she would get a spot on the zipline. But once she reaches the other side, it will take at least another five hours trekking through the jungle to get home, as all the major roads to her village have been swept away.
In Devighat, which was also devastated by the floods, another zipline platform is still under construction, in the residence of Arjun Lal Shrestha, who donated his damaged home to the project.
"This zipline is being built because we can’t reach the village on the other side of the river. It was just yesterday that we were such close neighbours, but today it’s as if we’re living in two different countries," said Shrestha.
At least 1,287 people were killed in Nepal as houses, schools and villages near the border with China's Tibet were swept away in the August 26 flash floods. Over 5,000 people were reported missing. China has put the death toll in Tibet at 21, with 541 others listed as missing.
(Camera, editing, production, writing: Joseph Campbell)