Neglect of earthquake victims: Declaration of disaster areas only after four months

Many victims are still living in Tripal as temporary housing could not be built. It is not yet decided when construction of permanent housing will begin. It seems that this winter will be more difficult for the earthquake victims who have endured the cold winter.

Since the government has started providing subsidies for the construction of temporary housing, most of them have received the first installment, but the source of the second and last installment has not been ensured. As the reconstruction of the house is not immediate, the government has brought a subsidy procedure to move the victims living in Tripal to temporary accommodation. According to the procedure, the subsidy was to be provided to the beneficiaries in two installments at the rate of 25-25 thousand. However, only the first installment has been disbursed so far, the disbursed amount has not reached the hands of all the affected. So far, only around 35,000 temporary housing units have been built, even those who have built housing have not received the second installment.

has not even become a temporary residence for more than 20,000 families. The municipality has not even been able to monitor whether the beneficiaries who received the first installment of subsidy have built temporary housing or not. The process of the second installment cannot proceed until the municipality is able to monitor. The municipality should be aware that the victims do not get into more trouble due to their own causes. Housing construction and subsidy distribution should not be delayed by the state machinery under any pretext. It is ironic to spend so much time building temporary housing.

After the earthquake, the president, prime minister, minister and other leaders in the rescue and inspection were not as careful as they were in arranging safe accommodation for the victims. Delays in the construction of temporary housing have forced many earthquake victims to retreat to their charred houses to escape the cold, putting them at greater risk. Snow has fallen in some villages affected by the earthquake. During Tripal's stay, health problems became complicated due to the cold, and 38 people lost their lives in the meantime, this number is about a quarter of those who lost their lives in the earthquake. Cold yam is troublesome for children, pregnant women, pregnant women, chronically ill, children and the elderly living in Tripala. In terms of distributing relief to the victims and rebuilding houses, the government did not seem to be able to learn from the devastating earthquake eight years ago. Relief distribution was slow. If the government is not able to expedite the contract, grant distribution, and monitoring process for the buildings to be reconstructed, not only the coming monsoon, but some other monsoons and winters will be troublesome for the victims.

Bheri, Nalgad, Chedagad and Barekot Municipalities of Jajarkot and Aathbiskot, Chaurjahari Municipality, Saniveri Rural Municipality of Rukum West have suffered more human and physical damage due to the earthquake. The government is preparing to start reconstruction by declaring the same area as a crisis. It is estimated that about 80 billion rupees will be required for the construction of private and public physical structures. For that, the government has a policy of using internal resources, external support, grants and loans. But this homework should have been done right after the earthquake, not four months later. The process should have been carried forward so that the reconstruction could be completed without rain.

It is feared that the government, which has been slow until now, will continue to ignore it. The inhabitants of the affected areas should be brought out of the pain of the earthquake by rehabilitating them in safe housing as soon as possible. The process of house reconstruction should be simplified. There may be a shortage of carpenters and carpenters when many houses are rebuilt at once. For that, attention should also be paid to the production of skilled manpower. The reconstruction of buildings including health institutions and schools that provide basic needs services should also proceed as quickly as possible.