Nepal earthquake: 16-year-old girl with special needs 'tied to tree for fear she might run away'

Her father says the restraints are necessary otherwise she will run away, as their home was destroyed

A 16-year-old girl with special needs has reportedly been tied to a tree for fear she may run away, after her house was destroyed in the Nepal earthquake on 25 April.

According to Gulf News, her parents previously used to keep Srijana Nepal locked in her bedroom in Chandeni Mandan village in Kavre district, as she had a history of running away from the house.

Now the disabled girl is apparently limited to the restraints tied to a tree next to a cattle shed, due to the destruction of their house, and her father says he cannot afford medical treatment.

“It is heartbreaking to tie her up like this. We used to lock her up in a room. But I no more have a house to keep her safe,” Krishnaprasad Nepal, Srijana’s father told Gulf News.

“I am struggling to feed my family every day. I don’t have enough money to pay for a doctor. But I am taking care of her in the best way possible, she does not like it and wants us to let her go. But what can I do?

“We have lost her many times in the past. She will just run helter-skelter if no one is supervising [her].”

Nepal has four children, between the ages of four and 16, of which Srijana is the oldest.

The family currently live in a temporary shelter made of tarpaulin, receiving food from international aid agencies as most of their livestock have died.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal has to date killed more than 8,000 people and injured many more, and a second quake of 7.3 magnitude occurred on 12 May, triggering landslides and injuring over 2,300.

The UK government gave £5 million to help people affected by the Nepal earthquake in April.