KATHMANDU, July 19: The survey to identity earthquake victims whose houses were damaged by the mega earthquakes of last year in the Kathmandu Valley for grant distribution is finally beginning from Tuesday.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), which has been entrusted to carry out the survey on behalf of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), is mobilizing as many as 400 teams to carry out the damage assessment survey in all the three districts of the Valley--Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur--from Tuesday.

Though the survey was scheduled to begin from Monday, it could not start as per the schedule since the CBS could not complete the training of engineers being deployed for the survey.

Deputy Director General of CBS Rudra Suwal said that the survey will begin from Tuesday. “Each survey team consists of an engineer and a local social mobilizer. All the 400 teams will be fanned out across the Valley from Tuesday,” he added.

He said that the survey will be completed by the next two months.

It is after fifteen months of the devastating earthquakes of last year that the government is carrying out the survey in the Valley. The survey is the key basis to identify the victims whose houses were damaged by the quakes and provide them grant assistance of Rs 200,000 each for reconstructing their houses.

In the three districts of the Valley, 79,846 private houses were fully damaged and 73,142 were partially damaged, according to the figures provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The 400 teams will reach out to all the houses identified by the ministry and carry out a detailed assessment survey and finalize a new list of houses eligible for the grant amount.

“We have also received complaints from many victims claiming that their houses have also been damaged by the earthquakes but their names were not included in the list of the victims eligible for the relief amount. Our teams will also carry out survey of those houses as well,” said Suwal. 

 
• central bureau of statistics
 
• mega earthquakes