The September 18 quake, which had an epicentre on the Nepal-Sikkim border, rendered more than 2,600 families homeless in Ilam, Panchthar, and Taplejung districts. [break]Ilam District Administration Office put the total losses of properties at Rs 1.37 billions with 2015 houses were damaged.
Much of the damage to properties remain as they were following the quake as home owners go on with the lives on their own without the hope of recieving further assistance that was promised by the government.
“The last thing government offered us was Rs 2,000 as relief fund and we have not heard from them,” said Tika Dhakal of Sulubung VDC, an earthquake victim. “Everything I had was destroyed in the earthquake. Don´t know what will happen to us if we are hit again,” Tika said. Tika and his family is now living in a hut built close to their damaged house.
54 -years- old Indramaya Bishwakarma´s house, which was built with Rs 2,000,000 loan, toppled in the quake . Now she and her husband Man Bahadur have no assets to show for more loans. “May be it is our destiny to suffer until death. We don´t have any solutions nor are we getting assistance,” said Man Bahadur.
The victims are still living under tents and during winter they have been finding shelter in neighbor´s houses. “It´s not that politicians, media personalities and other officers approached us, but looking at our conditions it seems that it was just their act of temporary considerations and nothing more,” complained Tika.
Government had promised to bring in new relief packages for the victims last year but their plans remain limited to words. They had decided to offer Rs 100,000 to the families whose houses were totally damaged and Rs 50,000 to the partially damaged houses owners.
The relief package included Rs 10,000 for other less affected along with loan facilities. Government had even decided to establish a district office for reconstruction as well as rehabilitation of the disaster victims but no actions have been implemented till now, informed Tika.
According to Assistant CDO Pursotam Ghimire, relief fund worth Rs 10 million received from the center and Rs 1.59 million from district was distriubuted among all the victims. Pursotam said Rs 10,000 was distributed to each of the 2,304 families.
Meanwhile, Suresh Nembang Chief of Urban Development and Building Construction Division Office said, “We don´t have immediate relief plans but talks regarding loan schemes for the victims might be approved by the end of September.”
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