By Our Correspondent
Dhangadhi, July 9: A series of prefab houses, which were supposed to be used for Sudurpaschim’s Provincial Emergency Operations Centres (POC) have been misused to accommodate a newly appointed Minister. Constructed under the direction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law within its own premises, it seems as if the houses were built as residential ministry quarters rather than for the purposes of natural disaster management.
There has been a huge public outcry following the decision of the Ministry to hand over the house to the newly appointed Minister of Internal Affairs and Law Purna Joshi. At a time when the entire country is reeling under the crisis of flood, landslide and a global pandemic, such a decision has been widely denounced.
However, Secretary at the Ministry Chudamani Poudel assures that there hasn’t been any obstruction in the daily workings of the emergency centre. “Only half of the emergency centre has been used as the Minister’s residence. This hasn’t interfered with the workings of the centre in any way,” he adds.
As the government residence for the Minister of Internal Affairs is not currently vacant, Minister Joshi has been housed within the confines of the emergency operations centre, informs Secretary Poudel.
Apparently, former Minister Prakash Bahadur Shah is still using the quarter of the Minister of Internal Affairs despite being relieved of his duties. Following the reshuffle of the Sudurpaschim Cabinet on May 28, UML’s PP leader Shah was reappointed as a Minister of Economic Affairs and Planning.
“After the reshuffle, the former Internal Affair Minister had to vacate the quarter. But since he did not, we had no choice but to somehow accommodate Minister Joshi in the POC,” explains Spokesperson for the Ministry Mohan Raj Joshi.
The Provincial Emergency Operations Centres are responsible for accessing the situation in all the districts within the province during natural disasters or any forms of crises, collect information regarding the cost of damages, prepare natural disaster management plans and forward it to the National Emergency Operations Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Province government has also set up a disaster fund for the assistance and rescue of victims.
Apart from being a resource collection and distribution centre, it has also been built to hold emergency meetings and store relief packages.