KATHMANDU, Nov 17: Nepali Congress (NC) has announced plans to construct 100 temporary houses for earthquake victims. According to the NC, party leaders and workers will be mobilized to construct 100 temporary housing units and 1000 more towers on the initiative of the party.

General Secretary Gagan Thapa said that the first team will reach the earthquake-affected area within 3/4 days to build 100 temporary housing units on behalf of the party.

After one team returns, the NC will send another team. Each time the team will be led by a central member.

Each team is going to be engaged in construction work for a week. The group going for the construction of temporary accommodation will have to arrange the food themselves. The team assigned to build the tent will have to make arrangements for them to sit and sleep by themselves.

General Secretary Thapa stated that there will be skilled, semi-skilled and cooperative members in the team. The team will be deployed with two skilled manpower, two semi-skilled and another 7/8 volunteers. Since there is a shortage of manpower for construction work in the earthquake-affected areas, the NC has said that the workers will be managed from Kathmandu and other areas.

The identification of families in need of housing will be done collaboratively with local institutions. Gagan Thapa emphasized the need for coordination with local authorities to prioritize the construction of temporary shelters based on the community's requirements.

The government has decided to provide Rs 50,000 for the construction of temporary housing for the earthquake victims. The cabinet meeting decided to provide Rs 50,000 to those who were completely damaged or partially damaged by the earthquake.

The NC suspects that if the grant given by the government is delayed, the government plan itself will fail. General Secretary Thapa argues that many temporary houses have to be built within the month of Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December), so if the funds are not received on time, the government’s plan will fail.

The NC has said that it is ready to cooperate to make the government’s plan successful. General Secretary Thapa said that the NC may start the campaign to build temporary houses before the government grant reaches the victims. "Before the government grant reaches the hands of the victims in time, we will start building a temporary shelter from our resources," said General Secretary Thapa, "For that, the government and the lower level mechanisms should be supportive." We want to work in a unified system created by the government,” he added.

According to the NC, a temporary residence can be built for around Rs 40,000 based on the cost of the two model houses. Jajarkot has suffered the most human and material damage due to the midnight earthquake of November 3.

The Disaster Preparedness and Response Section (NEOC) under the Ministry of Home Affairs reported the earthquake caused damage in 13 districts. The officials of the section said that 26,557 houses were completely damaged and 35,455 houses were partially damaged due to the earthquake resulting in 154 human casualties.

 
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