BANEPA, April 28: Earthquake victims of Kavre were delighted when the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) handed over the agreement papers of the second installment of reconstruction grant by making door-to-door visit sometimes back. They have been counting days ever since then but the wait seems endless with no signs of the quake victims receiving the grant from the government body.
Family members of Homnath Koirala of Rabiopi-4 were extremely elated when they were assured of the second installment. But their happiness has withered away as their bank balance remains nil even after two months of the agreement. Like Koirala, there are 61 families in Rabiopi who are desperately waiting for the relief since a long time.
“We completed the reconstruction of our houses on our own by taking loans hoping that the relief amount will be provided on time. But now we are in trouble as we have become debt-ridden,” lamented Pradhun Thapa of Rabiopi.
Two years after the devastating quake, locals of almost all the municipalities and rural municipalities have started rebuilding their houses on their own. Although engineers and sub-engineers delegated by the NRA had given them recommendation letters for the second tranche, the victims are still deprived of the grant. However, this is not the first time that the NRA has made the locals wait for so long as they had faced similar situation while receiving the first installment.
Dhruba Gainda, under-secretary at the NRA, Kavre has expressed sadness for not being able to provide the relief amount to the earthquake victims on time. “Just two days after the agreement on March 7, Rabiopi village was divided into two parts and now falls under Dhulikhel and Banepa municipalities. This has raised confusion on which municipality should issue the recommendation for the second tranche,” said Gainda, adding, “This is the main reason for the delay in the distribution process in that particular area. But the authority has already started distributing second tranche in other parts.”
Though the NRA has listed the names of 76, 724 victims eligible for the grant, there are many genuine victims who have been left out from the list. Among those included in the list, more than four thousand have not yet signed the agreement even for the first installment. As informed by Urban Development and Building Division Office, Kavre around 5,355 victims who have signed the agreement have started reconstructing their houses.
It has been found that around 4,248 victims have submitted the application for the second installment but only 2,607 have been certified till date.
“We will start the process for the third installment very soon,” said Under-secretary Gainda.
Dolakha quake victims start getting third tranche
