Only a few of the 604 families, whose houses were destroyed in the earthquake in Champadevi Tole and Dudhpokhari of Kirtipur Municipality, have received cash relief from the government. So far, only 62 families have received corrugated zinc sheets till Tuesday.United Sikhs, an international humanitarian organization, distributed corrugated sheets in the areas with help from Jagdal Battalion of the Nepal Army.
Padma Kumari Budha, 60, of Champadevi-8 said she could neither get Rs 15,000 cash relief distributed by the government as she did not have property documents nor did she receive zinc sheets to build a shelter before the monsoon becomes active.
The government had earlier decided to provide Rs 15,000 in cash relief to the quake victims to purchase the corrugated zinc sheets. "But the authorities did not issue me a card as I don't have property documents," she lamented.
Debaki Tamang, 45 and Babu Lal Chitrakar, 67, of the same village also share a similar plight. "Some of the quake victims have received cash relief while some were refused the amount as we did not have property related documents," said Tamang. "We have been living in the same village for more than 20 years but village authorities have refused to recognize us," said Chitrakar.
"We will try our best to bring additional support including zinc sheets and other relief materials to support the quake victims," said Komal JB Singh, field coordinator of the United Sikhs.
The organization also diagnosed quake affected people with skin, liver, heart related problems. "Of the over 90 people, about 15 percent were diagnosed with jaundice symptoms," said a doctor Rishab Koirala.
More than 500,717 houses were destroyed and 269,190 damaged across the country in the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks. It is estimated that 40,000 tons of corrugated zinc sheets is required for quake victims across the country.
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