According to the locals, the sky cleared up and they finally saw the sun in the northern parts of Gorkha including Laprak, Gumda, Chhekampar and Samagaun on Monday.
“The snow that had frozen started to melt on Monday after the sun rose,” Sudhip Joshi, chief of “People in Need”, an INGO, said.
Following the massive earthquake of April last year, the whole settlement of around 600 households from Laprak village had to shift to Gupsipakha hills. With snowfall in Gupsipakha hills, the quake affected people have started to return back to their old place again.
“Snowfall is less on the foothills than the hilltop,” said police inspector Shankar Acharya. According to him, the condition of the quake affected areas, with Monday's sun shine, has returned to normalcy.
Following the snowfall, locals have complained of shortage of drinking water. The heavy snowfall has also hampered transportation to the northern region.
Quake affected locals, after the snowfall, were compelled to live troublesome life in northern parts of Gorkha. The trails damaged by the earthquake had just opened but are again filled with snow. As a result, tractors cannot transport relief materials and goods for the quake victims. The only means to transport the materials for the quake affected people is via helicopter, according to local government authority.
People in Need (PIN) has airlifted warm clothes to the snow-hit areas of Gorkha. The organization has distributed the clothes like jackets, blankets and mattresses to the quake affected locals, according to PIN program coordinator Mukesh Singh Thapa.
“We distributed warm clothes to local quake victims to protect them from snowfall,” Thapa said. He informed that 625 jackets, 276 shawls, 1700 woolen caps and 105 blankets were distributed to quake victims.
The quake affected people have barely received relief materials from the government in remote areas. Thanks to the INGOs and NGOs, whose support has been lifesaving to a great extent.
Local quake victims are yet to receive the initial government relief of Rs 15,000 and additional Rs 10,000 for purchasing warm clothes among other relief materials. Due to costly transportation and air route being the only alternative, the government relief materials have not been transported to the quake affected areas yet. The remote parts of Gorkha district do not have the presence of the government, according to the locals.
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