DHANKUTA, Nov 23: Victims of the devastating earthquakes of 2015 are yet to reconstruct their houses in Dhankuta as the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has failed to mobilize engineers in the quake-affected areas of the district.

Although a total of 2,252 earthquake victims in the district received the first installment of government's housing grant, they could not begin reconstructing their houses in lack of engineers to approve designs of earthquake-resilient houses.

In hope of constructing an earthquake-resilient house, quake victim Maiya Devi Ghimire has been living in tents of Dhankuta Municipality-3. “I am fearful of spending the winter in this makeshift shelter this year again,” she said, adding, “It's been so long since I have been waiting for engineers to come and construct my house but they have upset me time and again.” 

Ghimire further added that though she had got Rs 50,000 of the government's housing grant, lack of engineers in the village has hindered the reconstruction of any building.  

Similarly, Dhundi Raj Ghimire of the same municipality laments, “I fear that the wood I bought would decay soon due to the lack of engineers for the construction of house. Though I have bought the required materials for construction, I am still unsure when will my house be built.” 

Chief of the District Coordination Committee (DCC), Dhankuta Sita Ram Gautam, said that despite having housing grant, earthquake victims are unable to build houses due to the lack of engineers in the district.

Gautam said, “People of the district have been coming to the DCC in a large number looking for engineers. But, as the provincial and parliament elections are near, it might delay the reconstruction works.”

 
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• lack
 
• engineers