“I was in India when it happened. One of my acquaintances had robbed me and pushed me down the cliff. After 3 years in bed and multiple surgeries, I am grateful to be alive. But I am not like I used to be.
After the incident, I returned home. I was surprised to see dramatic changes to the place I had once left. Back then people ate what they could grow. There were no roads. But what I saw now astonished me. The road network had joined villages. There were shops where people were buying food to cook.
Although the places had developed in some sense, there was zero thought given to people like myself who need infrastructures that are inclusive to our needs. You see, a person with disability needs ramps, wheelchairs and support to be able to use the services available to others. I did not see anything like that here. I would have liked to go to work and participate in this development work in my community but there were obstacles presented by these infrastructures.
How is a person with a disability able to go and fetch water if the outlet is far and has steps?
Not just for people with disabilities, the scarcity of water supply is a major problem for everyone in the community. We have been dependent on the traditional source for a long time. Several organizations and the local level government bodies have made plans to address this problem. But time and again, these important agendas of delivering water to every household have been skipped, stating limited water at the sources. We are really frustrated by their constant false assurances.
Furthermore, even the source is not safe. Murky water gets into it during the rainy season. Moreover, cattle can easily enter the source of water and make it dirty. Time and again, we discuss in the community with an agenda to ensure the safety of the source. But no progress can be witnessed so far. Ensuring the safety of the source, exploring new sources, and maintaining the existing source is the need now. In addition, we need to make the outlets more accessible and convenient for persons with disabilities.
There are around 170 households in this area. However, hardly 50% of them have toilet facilities. Probably because of the water scarcity, the remaining households don’t use the toilet facility anyway. Instead, they use it to store firewood and fodders. Just imagine, how will the poor afford to build a toilet. Moreover, there’s the problem of waste management once the toilet is full. Therefore, most people go to the jungle and farm to defecate.
Who doesn’t want to be clean? We would clean our clothes if we have water. We can’t be bothered to go to the river forever. Despite my disability, I visit the river time and again to clean large blankets and bedsheets, since water for washing purposes isn’t sufficient at home. Because of the problem with water facilities, there’s a lack of health and sanitation in the whole village, not only for persons with disabilities.
I think the community, the government bodies and the organizations who work here must have strong policies not only on paper but to be implemented in every household to ensure that persons with disability can participate in the operations of the community and also have a better quality of life. “
– Karma Sonam Tamang, Maangri, Mugum Karmarong-8, Mugu
“त्यो घटना हुँदा म इन्डियामा थिएँ । एकजना चिनेजानेकै मान्छेले मेरो पैसा लुटपाट गरेर भिरबाट खसालिदिएको थियो । तीन वर्ष ओछ्यान परेर ४ पटक अपरेसन गरेपछि मात्रै भगवानको कृपाले म बाँच्न सफल भएँ । तर पहिलेको जस्तै हिँडडुल गर्न भने नसक्ने अवस्थामा पुगेँ ।
त्यो घटनापछि म घर फर्किएँ । म इन्डिया गएपछि गाउँमा निकै परिवर्तन भएको देखेर म त आश्चर्यचकित भएँ । त्यतिखेर मानिसहरू खेतमा जे उब्जाउ हुन्थ्यो, त्यही मात्रै खान्थे । बाटोघाटो नै थिएन । गाउँ फर्केपछि त्यस्तो परिवर्तन देखेर मलाई त अचम्म लाग्यो । गाउँगाउँमा बाटो पुगेको थियो । त्यससँगै पसलहरू पनि खुलेका थिए, जहाँ मानिसहरूले खाद्यान्न किन्न पाउँथे ।
केही अर्थमा विकास त भएकै थियो । तर पुर्वाधारहरू बनाउँदा म जस्ता अपाङ्गता भएका मानिसहरूलाई भने पुरै बेवास्ता गरिएछ । अपाङ्गता भएका मानिसको लागि व्हीलचियर चलाउन मिल्ने र्याम्प चाहिन्छ र अरु मानिसहरूले पाउने सेवा लिनको लागि सहज हुनुपर्छ । त्यस्ता कुराहरू मैले यहाँ केही पनि देखिनँ । मलाई पनि काम गर्न मन थियो । समुदायमा भएका विकासका कार्यहरूमा सहभागी हुन मन थियो । तर यस्ता पुर्वाधारहरूले मलाई सहभागी हुनबाट बन्चित गरिदियो ।
तपाइँ नै भन्नुस् न, अपाङ्गता भएको एउटा मानिसले टाढाको सिँढी भएको धारासम्म पानी लिन कसरी जान सक्छ ?
अपाङ्गता भएको मानिसलाई मात्रै होइन, यो गाउँको सबैजनाको मुख्य समस्या नै पानीको अभाव हो । लामो समयदेखि हामी परम्परागत ढुङ्गेधारामा नै आस्रित छौँ । स्थानिय तहदेखि धेरै संघसंस्थाहरूले यो समस्या समाधान गर्न धेरै योजना बनाइसके । तर मुहानमा नै पानी कम छ भनेर घरघरमा पानी पुर्याउने जस्तो महत्वपुर्ण कुरालाई पनि परपर सार्ने गरिएको छ । यस्ता झुटा आस्वाशनहरूदेखि अब त हामीहरू आजित भइसकेका छौँ ।
अर्को कुरा, मुहान पनि सुरक्षित छैन । वर्षा याममा धमिलो पानी पस्छ । अनि गाईवस्तुहरू पनि सहजै मुहानमा पसेर पानी धमिलो बनाउँछन् । बेलाबेलामा मुहानलाई कसरी सुरक्षित बनाउने भनेर गाउँमा छलफल चल्छ । तर अहिलेसम्म केही प्रगती भएको छैन । मुहानको सुरक्षा, नयाँ मुहानको खोजी र अहिलेको मुहानको व्यवस्थापन गर्नु आजको आवश्यकता हो । अनि अर्को कुरा, धाराहरूलाई अपाङ्गतामैत्री बनाएर हामी जस्ताको पनि पहुँच सहज गराउन उत्तिकै आवश्यकता छ ।
यो क्षेत्रमा १७० घरधुरीहरू छन् । तर ५० प्रतिशतभन्दा पनि कम घरमा मात्रै शौचालय छ । सायद पानीको अभावले गर्दा नै होला, बाँकी ५० प्रतिशतको घरमा भएको शौचालय पनि प्रयोगमा आएको छैन । त्यसमा त घाँसदाउरा थन्काउने गरिन्छ । एउटा गरीबले कसरी शौचालय निर्माण गर्न सक्छ र? बनाइहाले भने पनि सेफ्टीट्याङ्की भरियो भने व्यवस्थापन गर्न गाह्रो छ । त्यसैले धेरैजसो मानिसहरू दिसा लाग्यो भने जंगलतिर, खेततिर लाग्छन् ।
सफा हुन कसलाई मन लाग्दैन होला र ? पानी छ भने त लुगा धुने हो । सँधै खोलामा जान पनि त सकिन्न । घरमा लुगा धुन पानी नपुग्ने भएकाले मेरो यस्तो हालत हुँदाहुँदै पनि कहिलेकाहीँ तन्ना र सिरकको खोल धुन खोलामा जाने गरेको छु । पानीको समस्याका कारण अपाङ्गता भएको मानिसलाई मात्रै होइन पुरै गाउँभरि नै स्वास्थ्य तथा सरसफाइको अभाव छ ।
यहाँ काम गर्ने सरकारी निकाय र संघसंस्थाहरूले यस सम्बन्धी उचित नीति बनाएर कागजमा मात्रै सिमित नराखी घरघरमा कार्यान्वयन गर्नुपर्छ । जसले गर्दा अपाङ्गता भएका मानिसहरूले पनि समुदायमा हुने क्रियाकलापहरूमा सहभागी हुन पाउन् र समुन्नत जीवन बाँच्न पाउने उनीहरूको अधिकार पनि सुनिश्चित होस् ।”
– कर्मा सोनाम तामाङ, माङ्ग्री, कर्मारोङ-8
