Security agencies, Nepal Red Cross, and stakeholders participating in the District Disaster Management Committee meeting held at the District Administration Office, Dhankuta, following the directives of Home Minister Sudhan Gurung, have unanimously complained that they have not been able to work effectively due to lack of resources.
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While the federal government is instructing subordinate bodies to be prepared to make disaster risk reduction and management effective, the disaster response mechanism in Dhankuta has been found to be weak due to lack of resources.
Following the directives of Home Minister Sudhan Gurung, security agencies, Nepal Red Cross and stakeholders participating in the District Disaster Management Committee meeting held at the District Administration Office, Dhankuta have unanimously complained that they have not been able to work effectively due to lack of resources.
The incident in the first week of Chaitra, when hundreds of trees fell on the Dhankuta-Hile section of the Koshi Highway, which blocked the road, has exposed the real state of the district's disaster preparedness. Despite the mobilization of a large number of Nepali Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, the highway was blocked for about 14 hours due to the lack of normal saws to cut trees.
Chief District Officer Binod Kumar Khadka said that the road could not be opened overnight due to lack of normal equipment. 'Despite the manpower, the lack of a saw became a problem,' he said, 'We are tied up due to lack of resources.' Nepal Police Superintendent Sharat Kumar Thapa Chhetri said that manpower alone is not enough for disaster response. 'Work is not possible without equipment,' he said, 'if there are no resources, we have to work with bare hands.'
Armed Police Force Chhintang Gulma Deputy Superintendent Prem Prakash Sigdel complained that there is not even basic equipment required for rescue during floods and inundations. 'We do not even have a functioning life jacket,' he said, 'a boat is a long way away.' He said that there are frequent problems in rescue operations in the Arun and Tamor river areas. It was mentioned in the meeting that the Nepal Army also lacks the necessary equipment during disasters such as floods, landslides, fires and storms.
The Nepal Red Cross Society Dhankuta branch, which is at the forefront of relief and rescue during disasters, has also become resourceless. According to the branch's vice-president, Thagendra Adhikari, there is not even enough material to support 10 people in times of immediate relief. 'The store is empty,' he said, 'We are affected by the problems of the center.' It has also been found that the fund where the Chief District Officer is the coordinator for disaster management is empty. Pradya Khadka said that there is no money in the fund and a search is being carried out.
Not only in the district, but also the disaster management committees formed at the local level are in the same problem. Pakhribas Municipality Mayor Gyan Bahadur Gurung said that they have not been able to work effectively due to lack of resources. 'We have to search and manage after the incident,' he said. Sahidbhumi Rural Municipality Chairman Manoj Rai also said that the disaster response has not been effective due to lack of equipment and resources.
The participants in the meeting concluded that despite the instructions from the center to strengthen preparedness, the local level is not in a position to work due to lack of resources. Finally, the meeting concluded with the conclusion that the district and local level disaster management committees have become ineffective due to lack of resources.
