Rubble from destroyed homes has blocked access at most points. There is hardly anyone from among the 9,000 residents who are not out in the cold, wet, open area where they are staying with their families beneath orange and blue tarpaulin sheets - the only material aid the village has received, to date.
With little in hand and little to do, most men roam around scavenging for food and the remaining carry lists of those missing or dead. Barpak was till last saturday among the prosperous villages in the district with a large number of pensioners from the British and Indian Armies. It derives its name from a legend which saw the Buddha tying 12 tigers together at a spot a little above the village, a fable which is dished out every time there is a query about its name.
Ironic, as there are hardly any visitors now as residents try to rebuild their village from rubble. A few paces down from the helipad and hordes of villagers were seen trying to make sense of life after the disaster.
The young ones ran towards our aircraft while the older ones simply pulled themselves along. We came to know later that it was not so much the excitement of seeing a big plane land on their village, but desperation that made them approach us in hordes.
Starved and strained, they came to us for help. The narrow alleys which were the lifelines of this village atop a ridge in Nepal’s Himalayan range, have now disappeared behind heaps of broken buildings.
Rubble from destroyed homes has blocked access at most points. There is hardly anyone from among the 9,000 residents who are not out in the cold, wet, open area where they are staying with their families beneath the orange and blue tarpaulin sheets — the only material aid the village has received, to date.
With little in hand and little to do, most men roam around scavenging for food and the remaining carry lists of those missing or dead.
“International tourists who would splurge to stay in ethnic Nepali homes built with wood and stones have helped us prosper. But, the only houses that survived the devastating temblor were the ones built with concrete,” says Krishna Gurung, a village elder.
Now, they have to make a choice — let go of their primary source of income by rebuilding the village with concrete or face nature’s wrath the next time around. A little distance away is the massive school complex where nearly 800 students miraculously escaped death.
Most classrooms have caved in, with rubble now settled on the benches.
“Our co-ed hostels were built from donations from France and, like the rest of the school, now lie in tatters,” the headmaster told us.
At the far end of the village, only two solid structures — an old tree and a brand new cement building — stand.
But unlike other places in Nepal, mobile connectivity is surprisingly good.
“However, there is no electricity to charge cell phones,” complained a villager.
Before we get ready for takeoff, wailing of women from a corner of the village drifted towards us.
“Come quickly, more bodies have been found,” said a young man.
This time, it was the bodies of a young woman and a toddler. Locals said they have buried as many as 40 bodies and are likely to find hundreds more.
In the absence of any government support, villagers have to trek for nearly a kilometre to bury their dead.
“Almost every family has a death. The positive side to it is we are all in mourning,” said an elderly woman, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
Barpak will now have to deal with decay and disease unless the government acts fast.
It may well fall off the tourist map. But that is for later. For now, villagers want normalcy restored.
Before departing, Lt Bhumika NS from the Nepalese Army, who has been leading a medical support team, said: “We have treated head injuries and fractures till date but my worry is about the hundreds of smaller villages in the area we are yet to go to.”
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