Thyapri Budha(83), a resident of Rolpa Municipality-10, Dhangsi, Dhawang, is eighty-three years old.
Despite her old age, she still has not have time off from kitchen and preparation of food for cattle. The wood has to be burnt in traditional stove to cook food for human and cattle. While cooking meal on daily basis, smoke makes it very hard.
She says, “Although doctor has advised me to stay away from smoke and dust, we cannot stay hungry. I must work in the kitchen. Eyes ache due to smoke; hurt too. Eyes are clouded and have blurry vision. Dust causes the eyes to be red and have burning sensation, but what could be done? ”
She underwent a surgery for cataract three months ago. As she could not distance herself from smoke and dust even at old age and her eye issues increased instead of decreasing, she went to Rolpa District Hospital few days ago, walking for four hours, to get further treatment.
All of Thyapri’s sons died at young age. Three daughters survived, and all are married now. She has been living with second daughter Sinkimaya. Because Sinkimaya’s husband has gone to Gulf country for employment, she has to work outside her house. Other members of the family have to go to field and other places for work. Thyapri is the one that has to look after the household activities.
Despite knowing that smoke causes the deterioration of health, Sinkimaya has not been able to manage any alternatives. She says, “Cylinder Gas is expensive. And, we cannot buy it in the village too. We have not constructed improvised stove, because of which our family has not been able to be free from smoke and dust.”
A resident of Rolpa Municipality – 8, Jankot, Anjana Karki Magar’s eye problem has been increasing due to dust and smoke. She has been suffering from eye problems since she was eight or nine years old. The problem increased with the increase in age. Smoke causes the eyes to burn, hurt and be red. Doctor has advised to stay away from smoke and dust. When she is away from smoke, she feels fine. “But being a daughter-in-law, I cannot avoid responsibility of kitchen works,” she says. Problems of her eyes have worsen since she has to stay in smoke and dust, she says.
To spend days amidst dust and smoke because of daily household activities is the compulsion for women in this area. It is increasingly causing eye problems in local women.
Majority women among eye patients
There are more women than men every year as the service seekers in Community Eye Centre Rolpa. According to the centre’s In-charge Mr. Tara Bahadur Waiba, the main reasons behind this are that the women cannot stay away from smoke and dust, and as women have to spend more time on household activities, they either don’t wear glasses or are not provided with glasses.
The eye patients are advised to stay away from smoke and dust. Because of smoke and dust, many eye problems such as redness, dryness, and ultimately they suffer from cataract. Therefore, they have to stay away from dust and smoke, but most of the patients in the district have not been able to do so. In Rolpa, around two hundred people are visionless.
According to the statistics from the centre, 2,359 women and 1,908 men had their eyes checked in between January 2018 to October 2018. The figure of people having their eyes checked in 2017 was 1,840 women and 1,574 men. In 2018 alone, 167 people have had surgery for cataract in Eye Hospital Rolpa.
According to In-charge Waiba, most of the patients coming for eye check-up are the ones suffering from eye infections, allergies, visual impairment, issues regarding eyelashes, and corneal ulcer resulting from problems arising after wounds on eyes during collecting fodder.
Effects on overall human health
Smoke and dust don’t only cause negative effects only on eyes, but to overall human health as well. Chief of District Health Office Rolpa Mr. Sushil Acharya states that dust and smoke cause the problems such as tuberculosis, chest infection, and skin diseases. According to him, a large number of patients with respiratory problems visit District Hospital Rolpa for treatment. The problems in patients have not been reduced as wood is used in 90% households in the district.
In fiscal year 2017/18, 7,912 patients were diagnosed with respiratory problems in Rolpa only. According to Dr. Acharya, women are affected directly or indirectly due to the effects of dust and smoke. The women from poorer class have to deal more with the effects of smoke and dust. With reference to his works that he performed in Gorkha, Pyuthan and Rolpa districts, he said that scarcity and poverty have also caused the higher number of patients suffering from respiratory issues. The main reason behind that is dust and smoke. The district ranks highest in the country in number of patients of respiratory issues.
Campaign going nowhere
In the past, a campaign was conducted to declare Rolpa as smoke-free district by 2017. Even as the end of year 2018 is near, the campaign has not yet been completed. With the transition of the country to local structures, several programmes run as campaigns, such as total cleanliness district campaign and smoke free district campaign have been left behind. With the formation of local structures, the elected representatives leading the district explain that they are not familiar with this subject. Federation of Nepali Journalists, Rolpa’s Founding President Mr. Kashi Ram Dangi says that it is a matter of concern that important programmes of this kind have been sidelined.
Mr. Dangi suggests that, as these programmes have not been completed with the transition of country to local structures, the local levels (municipalities and rural municipalities) should move ahead with completion of these campaigns.
Meanwhile, Rolpa Municipality has introduced the alternative energy connection programme. Mayor of the municipality Mr. Purna K.C. informs that alternative energy have been planned to be connected in ninety households in the municipality, along with other nine rural municipalities in the district within current fiscal year. According to him, biogas connection has been introduced in the district through National Rural and Renewable Energy Programme. For this purpose, the municipality will contribute NRs three hundred thousand and the concerned household will provide required labour. Essential materials and technical assistance will be received from Ministry of Energy. In this way, nine households in one ward, for each ward within the municipality, will have connection to alternative energy. Respective ward offices have already issued notice in this regard.
There are a total of 7,133 households in Rolpa Municipality. There are 18,015 women and 14,744 men living in those households.
Best Idea: Alternative Energy
Assistant Forest Officer at Division Forest Office Rolpa Mr. Bharat Shrestha states that the best solution to the problem is to connect every household in the district with the alternative energy. According to him, out of total area of Rolpa, i.e. 187150 hectors, 94097 hectors of land has been covered by forest. Out of that, wood is collected from private forest, community forest and private settlement land. Fifty-eight thousand households are associated with community forest. Community forest has prepared certain criteria to collect wood, but available wood has not been enough. “That’s why there will be positive impact on all if all households have alternative energy connection,” he says.
Use of alternative energy will save the time consumed for wood collection, reduce the risk taken by women as they are the ones collecting wood and fodder for cattle in the slope terrain, and provide relief to different people in the community from issues related to dust and smoke, says Mr. Shrestha.
Divisional Forest Officer Mr. Krishna Prasad Dhakal emphasizes on usage of alternative energy to mitigate the negative effects caused by climate change and reduce the negative effects in women’s health. According to Dhakal, smoke causes Carbon Monoxide and Dioxide to release in the atmosphere. Then, there is increment in amount of Carbon Dioxide, the leading cause of climate change. In addition, when trees are cut to get wood, the amount of oxygen released by plants is reduced, causing negative effects in the atmosphere. The usage of wood increases the emission of greenhouse gas. The use of alternative energy will also reduce the emission of greenhouse gas.
If the stakeholder agencies provide attention to usage of alternative energy including biogas, improvised stove, and electricity, there will be furthersupport to reduce negative effects on women’s health and effects caused by climate change, he suggests. “For this purpose, Division Forest Office Rolpa aims to conduct activities that will reduce the use of wood in coming days,” he says.
Stakeholders explain that the government must take necessary steps to prevent women of Rolpa being affected by household smoke and dust. They insist that every local level should conduct special programmes related to alternative energy. There is also necessity of continuation of biogas connection programme conducted by Rolpa Municipality. Until the residents of Rolpa are equipped to use the alternative energy, the women of Rolpa will not be free from issues brought by smoke and dust.
