The relief amount, though released by the government and accordingly disbursed by the concerned authorities, is yet to reach the recipients. The district administration office (DAO) informed that it had deposited Rs 690 million in the bank accounts of all the 48 VDCs and two municipalities, way back in June. Sluggishness shown by the local authorities has however deprived the victims from receiving the aid, at the most crucial hour. So far only nine VDCs have disbursed the relief fund to the victims.
Sources at the DAO said that the local bodies were busy in spending their fiscal budget at the eleventh hour of the last fiscal year and informed that it might have delayed the distribution of the relief funds. DAO officials traded blame on VDC secretaries and local political mechanism for the inefficient distribution.
VDC secretaries deny the accusations. They claimed that the ever-increasing number of quake-affected households was delaying the distribution. They informed that locals were still filing for registering as quake victims. Some locals Bhimeshwar and Jiri municipalities along with Ghyasukathokar VDC have complained that they are yet to receive earthquake-victim identity cards that the local authorities are supposed to distribute. These locals claim that the delay in distribution of relief support package has added to their woes.
District Disaster Relief Committee (DDRC), Dolakha informed that it has distributed 57,200 earthquake-victim identity cards so far and added that numbers will rise. "We estimate that the total number of the quake victims will rise to 75, 000," said chief district officer (CDO) Devendra Lamichhane, who is also the DDRC's coordinator. He further informed that the DDRC has been closely monitoring and scrutinizing applications for figuring out any fake quake-victim claims.
Lamichhane informed that the Rs 800 million relief fund provided to the district is not sufficient and claimed that the district will require around Rs 1.12 billion. This, he said, needs to be arranged immediately.
CPN-UML district chairman, Ishwor Chandra Pokharel, while criticizing the government's inability to provide the relief amount on time informed that the locals were struggling hard to build temporary shelters on their own.
He said that the quake victims will have to stay in temporary shelters even after Dashain and Tihar, if they wait for aid from state authorities. "Locals will have to initiate rebuilding houses on their own. If they wait, they might be homeless even after Dashain and Tihar," Pokhrel said while criticizing lack of accountability shown by the VDC secretaries, that he claimed has been "affecting rehabilitation works in the district."
Owing to the recent monsoon rainfall, authorities have shifted families from landslide-prone areas to safer locations. "Three families of Leptung village were shifted to safer locations recently after landslides posed risk to their settlements," Lamichhane informed adding that they have been constantly monitoring landslide prone areas to avoid further tragedies in the district.
Apart from state agencies, the district has been receiving support from international donor agencies. The DDRC and DAO have been collaborating with these agencies for distributing relief packages. So far, around 40,000 displaced families have received corrugated sheets from various donor agencies.
During the earthquake, many roads across the district were severely damaged, making various areas inaccessible. The Division Road Office at the district has working towards clearing the obstructed roads to ease in the relief distribution.
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