Many Jajarkot quake victims not getting second tranche of reconstruction fund

BY BASUDEV SHARMA,Jajarkot, July 15: Jajarkot earthquake victims have not yet received the second tranche of money for the construction of temporary housing. 

The government announced a relief of Rs. 50,000 for the construction of temporary housing for those whose houses were damaged in the earthquake that occurred on November 3, 2023. 

Many victims had taken loans to construct temporary houses relying on the relief amount from the government. However, many have not received the second instalment of Rs. 25,000. 

Surendra Rana, a local from Maide of Bheri Municipality-1, said after receiving Rs. 25,000 he built a temporary house by taking the loan, expecting to repay it after receiving the second tranche. Since he had not received the second instalment from the government, he could not pay back his loan. He said that the government’s failure to keep its promises had caused distress among the poor, marginalised, elderly, women and children in the area. 

Similarly, Birendra Chandra of Chiuri in Nalgad Municipality-1, said that the risk of landslides has intensified the worries of earthquake victims. He said, “The hill above the settlement poses a risk of landslide to the people living downstream. Meanwhile, the temporary houses are not sufficient to accommodate our belongings and it gets flooded during rain. Therefore we have kept our belongings in our houses that are already cracked and damaged by the earthquake.”

According to Chief District Officer Umakanta Adhikari, the funds available in all seven municipalities had been distributed. Although additional funds have been demanded from the District Disaster Management Committee, none of the municipalities have distributed the funds. Stating that some of the beneficiaries had not come to receive the first instalment and had to wait for them, she said it might not cause any further problems for genuine beneficiaries.

She informed that only after distributing the remaining funds to the Local Disaster Management Committee, they would inform about the insufficient amount and the District Disaster Management Committee would send the remaining amount. She said that the municipalities had not been able to withdraw the funds from the District Disaster Management Committee's account, which was allocated for the second instalment two months after the earthquake due to negligence of local levels.