Raute population declines: 22-year-old dies

Surkhet, September 19 — A young member of the endangered Raute community has passed away. The deceased is identified as 22-year-old Brisha Bahadur Shahi.

Shahi was taken to the Karnali provincial hospital for treatment on September 16. After receiving no effective care, he died at 9 PM on Wednesday while returning to his residence in Simelsal, Gurans Rural Municipality-1, Dailekh according to Binod BC, a health worker from the Raute project.

According to BC, the young man had been ill for six months. The Raute community, initially reluctant to seek medical treatment, finally agreed to go to the hospital on September 16 after some persuasion.

With the support of Gurans Rural Municipality, he was brought to the provincial hospital in Surkhet. Tests revealed he had tuberculosis, and doctors informed that he was suffering from a contagious form of TB.

"When we tried to check for cancer, the Raute community refused," BC said. "The hospital discharged him, and he died on the way back."

Brisha Bahadur was a descendant of the Kalyal clan within the Raute community and was the younger brother of Bir Bahadur Shah, the community leader. His older brother, Kapil Shahi, had died six years ago.

In 2015, Kapil was burned in a fire in Bhairavsthan, Achham. He was the eldest son of Bir Bahadur Shahi.

With Brisha Bahadur's death, the Raute population has now dwindled to 134. Since June 2018, this community has lost 43 members, while only 31 births have been recorded, according to Lal Bahadur Khatri, a staff member of SOSEC Nepal.