The earthquake victims desperately need zinc sheets to make temporary shelters. However, some elements are looking to take advantage of people's plight. Two recent happenings are troubling. First, Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat's personal assistant, Ramesh Mahat, who is also Nuwakot District Secretary of Nepali Congress, was accused of trying to sell zinc sheets meant for earthquake victims. When questioned about his alleged involvement, Ramesh's supporters thrashed the questioner at the press meet itself, fuelling speculation about his role in the alleged embezzlement. Mahat resigned, apparently to help the investigation. We urge the government to get to the bottom of the case and make every detail public. Second, the Department of Commerce and Supply Management investigated two traders from Balaju and Chuchepati of Kathmandu and handed them to police for charging customers up to Rs 1,000 more for a bundle of zinc sheets. The government had directed zinc sheet manufacturers and distributors not to raise the price at these hours of tragedy and the manufacturers had agreed to follow the directive. Without strong and continuous vigilance over zinc sheet sellers, they are only likely to repeat this act.Reports suggest that above incidents may be only the tip of the iceberg. Embezzlement, misuse, hoarding, and price hike of vital supplies like rice, lentil and oil have started to make rounds in the national dailies, even as victims struggle to come back to their feet in the aftermath of earthquake. Grocery stores in Kathmandu have arbitrarily raised prices of rice and lentil. Private hospitals have also been found extracting hefty fees from the earthquake patients, despite strong government directives not to do so. Even political party leaders at the local levels are encouraging duplication, inflating the numbers of households destroyed by earthquakes to claim more compensation from the state. Without timely action against the wrongdoers, such malfeasance is only likely to increase in the days ahead.
We are living through extremely sensitive and difficult times. Over 8,000 people have been killed, 21,000 injured and over half a million private houses have been destroyed across the country. The homeless in the hills are struggling to build temporary shelters out of zinc sheets. The demand for zinc sheets and other essential commodities has shot up. But this is no excuse not to deliver, when the victims need them most. Acts of black marketing, hoarding, overcharging of essential goods during national crisis do not only amount to corruption, it's a social crime. Failure to control irregularities on time will only erode government credibility. While the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) must prosecute every wrongdoer, the government should spare no efforts to ensure that irregularities do not happen. Failing to do so will only embolden elements who are looking to make fast bucks out of people's helplessness. The onus lies on our political class as well. A single bad work is enough to tarnish good image they have been trying to build by reaching out to the victims to help in rehabilitation. These hours of crisis are also the time for planning, reconstructing and increasing government visibility so that the most vulnerable feel they are safe at the hands of our government.
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