Three high-risk villages in Limi to be relocated

By Rajan Rawat, HUMLA:- The three settlements in Limi, a trans-Himalayan area of Namkha Rural Municipality-6, are to be relocated to a safer location due to their high vulnerability to floods and landslides.

The residents of Til, Halji and Jang villages, which face recurring threats from floods and landslides, will be relocated to a safer area for permanent settlement.

Paljor Tamang, ward chairperson, said the relocation of the three villages to Takchi in the Limi area would begin within the current fiscal year.

Residents of Limi have been demanding relocation to a safer place for years.

Halji village has been affected by glacial lake outburst since seven years ago, while Til village has experienced flooding caused by glacial lake water leakage continuously for the past two years.

Similarly, Jang village is also at high risk of floods and landslides, as it lies below a river and beneath steep, landslide-prone slopes.

Because of recurring floods and landslides, the relocation process for all three settlements has begun at Takchi, about an hour’s walk from Jang village. Limi residents previously used the area for farming, but they have since abandoned it.

Ward chairperson Tamang said the rural municipality had allocated a budget in the first phase for preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for the relocation of the settlements. The process is expected to begin soon.

Kunzhok Tamang, a resident of Jang village, said Takchi, the proposed relocation site, lies at a higher elevation than the Karnali River and is considered safe from floods and landslides from all directions.

He said the initiation of the relocation process for the three villages was a positive development. He added that residents of all three villages were pleased to hear that programmes for relocation would be prepared once the DPR was completed and approved.

“At present, we are living in constant fear because of the possibility of floods and landslides in all three villages,” he said.

There are currently 18 households in Til, 90 in Halji and three in Jang, according to locals.