"Nepal Army and Nepal Police personnel reached our village within five days of the catastrophic earthquake," she said. She said her belongings from her damaged house were recovered on the 15th day, which she thinks is surprisingly quick considering the remoteness of the village.Although the village is located in one of the most remote areas of the district, government and various non-governmental organizations reached there for rescue and relief distribution work without delay.
"So far, I've already received four sacks of rice. My family has been surviving on it," said Sanchi, whose family is currently living under sheds. She naively thought that all the relief materials she had received were provided by the government, although some of the goods were provided by various donors. Each household in the village has already received 4 to 5 sacks of rice and tarpaulins as relief from the government and donors. The donors are still carrying out relief work.
Locals said they received relief materials on time. "The village secretary reached our village on April 28 through helicopter and immediately started distributing Rs 2,000 per household," informed Sanchi. Soon after the quake, the District Disaster Relief Committee (DDRC) had gathered development budgets from District Development Committee, VDC and municipality and distributed Rs 2,000 to each household in the VDCs as immediate relief to quake victims.
Sanchi was only six years old when the deadly earthquake of 1933 struck. "I remember that we slept in the open for around five days. My mother had told me that we did not receive any support from the government at that time. But things are different now," she said.
The remote village is around 60km from the district headquarters. There are eight villages in Kalinchowk VDC -- Mungcha, Kangpol, Tarevir, Dusikharka, Baygumpa, Lumthali, Oltang and Gairigau. Majority of the villagers are from Thami community while the upper region is inhabited by Sherpa, Newar and Dalit communities. With more than 700 households, the earthquake of April 25 and its subsequent aftershocks has not spared any of the houses.
Distribution of quake victim identity cards has already begun in the Kalinchowk VDC under the leadership of the VDC secretary and support from Nepal Army, Nepal Police, teachers, local political cadres and VDC workers. Three centers were set up to issue and distribute identity cards, according to Tritha Bhandari, VDC secretary of Kalinchowk.
Only potatoes can be grown in Kyangpol. The sacks of rice received in relief will not even last till the end of monsoon season. "It would've been better had we been able to stock more food," said Pahalman Thami, a local. "Risk of famine in the village is very high if the locals fail stock food to last till winter. I want to tell the government and donors to set up a food depot in our village to store adequate foods to last till the end of monsoon," he added.
According to locals, ward 7 and 6 of the VDC are at high risk of landslides as there are big cracks in the surrounding hill. "The locals of these wards should be relocated soon," said Kamal Bahadru Pokhrin, principal of local Balodaya High School. Tarevir village is especially at high risk of landslide. Pokhrin said most of the locals of Tarevir have already started moving to Kuri and Tutwan villages.
As dirt roads connecting the VDC have been obstructed by huge piles of debris, locals are facing problems transporting corrugated sheets to the villages for building makeshift houses. "We are hopeful that the government will soon start clearing the rubble," said Nir Bahadur Ghising, principal of local Dibyaswari Primary School.
Pokhrin also said the villagers have high hopes from the government. "We hope the government brings schemes for local development. Villages should be developed in planned way. We are hopeful that the government will soon bring development projects," said the principal.
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