SURKHET, Dec 20: Samiksha Pun's family of Pipe, Bheri Municipality-1, Jajarkot, has been residing under the tarpaulin provided by a donor after her house was destroyed by the November 3 earthquake. Her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Sujata, three-year-old son Siddhant and five-year-old daughter Suhana have been continuously sick since they started living under the leaking tarpaulin. "Doctors prescribe medicine by asking to protect the children from cold," Pun said. "How to keep the children warm under a tarpaulin?" she added.
After the earthquake, the government announced a grant of Rs 50,000 for the construction of temporary housing for the victims. On hearing that, Pun submitted an application to the ward office for the construction of temporary housing in mid-November. The ward office said that the house should be built according to the government standards and has halted the construction. Pun has so far neither received Rs 25,000 for the first installment nor the design of the temporary accommodation. "The government says that if you don't build a house as per the standards, you won't get the money. It's been more than a month since the application was submitted, we have received nothing so far," Pun said.
In Bheri Municipality-1, as many as 31 people died in the earthquake and 950 houses were completely destroyed. As the government did not pay the first installment on time, the quake victims are forced to live under the tarpaulin even in the extreme cold of winter. "If the government had provided us with the first installment of Rs 25,000 and the house design, we would have been able to live in a temporary house by now," said Jhuma Rana of Aaul, Bheri Municipality-1.
New agreement could further delay grant distribution
Ward Chairman Deepak Rana said that the government has not provided the required amount even though the data of the beneficiaries has been submitted. "The data of 950 beneficiaries from my ward including bonds has been sent to the municipality," he said.
The District Administration Office, Jajarkot, has disbursed Rs 464.3 million to the local government. Another Rs 500 million are yet to be sent to the local governments. Chief District Officer (CDO) Suresh Sunar said that although an additional Rs 500 million was requested from the central government for the construction of temporary housing for the earthquake victims, only Rs 40 million was received. He said that the local government did not provide the details on time, either, and there was some problem in the distribution as the funds that were supposed to come from the central government had not arrived.
“We have sent Rs 464.3 million meant for 18,572 beneficiaries at the local level so far. We have requested Rs 500 million more; Rs 40 million has arrived and we will soon send the funds to the local governments,” CDO Sunar said. “Due to the lack of funds, Rs 20,000 of the first installment has been sent only to 726 beneficiaries of Bheri Municipality,” he mentioned. “Due to the earthquake, 34,501 houses were completely damaged. Still 16,000 beneficiaries have not been sent the amount. "We are sending Rs 40 million from the association to Nalgad and Bheri municipalities. We heard that the decision to send additional funds was made only on Monday," he said.
The epicenter of the earthquake is Barekot Rural Municipality of Jajarkot. As many as 5,586 households have been displaced here. Funds have been sent to only 1,000 beneficiaries for temporary housing so far. "The first installment amount of all 5,586 beneficiaries will be disbursed," he said, "So far, only 1,000 have received the amount. The necessary funds for all beneficiaries in Barekot have not yet arrived," he added. "Some beneficiaries in the rural areas have not received the amount on time due to delays in the work," he said.
Chandra Prakash Gharti, the mayor of Bheri Municipality, said that the problem is that the beneficiaries from the ward have not been determined. "According to the policy of the federal government, the committee under the coordination of the ward chairman should recommend the beneficiaries to the local disaster management committee," he said. According to Mayor Gharti, wards no. 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10 have not submitted the beneficiary details so far. Barekot of Jajarkot was the epicenter of the earthquake.
