The failure of the District Disaster Relief Committee (DDRC) Gorkha to distribute the relief materials promptly to the quake victims has resulted in the decay and wastage. DDRC officials have told Republica that they have now worked out a plan for distributing the relief in the affected areas.
As per the DDRC's own reckoning, if even one of the items of relief could be distributed, some 20,000 earthquake victims would benefit. However, the relief materials are still in the storehouses.
“After the relief rice started to rot, it was treated and then distributed. Similarly, the DDRC has expedited a distribution plan for blankets, tents, tarpaulins and mats after these started to disintegrate,” a DDRC member said.
The DDRC has expedited plans to distribute the relief materials following recent media reports about ineffective distribution and the continuing plight of the quake-affected, it is learnt.
Additionally, two power generators of 50 KV capacity provided by the government of China are still in the storehouse. Seven other generators are being used by government offices and one by the locals of Barpak. Similarly, 34 water filters still await distribution.
Sita Nepali, an earthquake victim at Muchhok, is living in a temporary shelter made of bamboo and wooden planks. Her three children share their only bed while she and her husband sleep on a mat on the ground. Quake victims like Sita and her family could have benefitted hugely had the relief materials been distributed more effectively.
“If we had had a sturdy tarpaulin, we could have saved ourselves from the falling condensation,” she said. The tarpaulin that was provided to her family earlier has holes now due to heat and rain. “Relief materials are decaying. If fresh tarpaulins are given to us, we could sleep more comfortably,” she added.
Many have not been provided any government relief because they have yet to receive identity cards showing that they are genuine earthquake victims. Tarpaulins which were distributed earlier have become full of holes.They could have been replaced with new ones.
Meanwhile, local development officer (LDO) Prem Raj Giri said that relief materials have been kept on standby. “We're now distributing these to the needy,” he said.
Claiming that relief materials have already been distributed in large quantities, Giri said, “Smaller quantities remain to be distributed. According to him, the DDRC has carried out relief distribution in all the affected places.
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