Local levels of 14 districts to be declared disaster-crisis areas

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 5: Various local levels of 14 districts severely affected by floods, landslides and inundations have been recommended for declaration as disaster crisis-affected areas. 

The 26th meeting of the executive committee of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) held on Friday in Singha Durbar recommended that the government declare these local levels as disaster crisis-affected areas.

The meeting, chaired by Minister for Home Affairs Ramesh Lekhak, proposed declaring crisis-affected areas in the local levels of Panchthar, Okhaldhunga, Udayapur, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Sindhuli, Makwanpur, Chitwan, Lalitpur, Sindhupalchok, Dhading, Dolakha, Ramechhap and Kavrepalanchok districts, according to a secretariat of the Minister for Home Affairs.

According the Secretariat, the recommendation has been made to declare these areas as crisis-affected for a period of three months.

The Authority has stated that next cabinet meeting will make the formal declaration based on the executive committee's recommendation.

Meanwhile, death toll in the recent monsoon-induced disaster reached 239 with 18 missing cases as of Friday afternoon, according to Nepal Police Headquarters.

 In the disaster incidents, 177 persons were injured in different parts of the country. Similarly, within the last one week, the government has rescued 17,174 persons stuck and stranded in various places due to the landslides, floods and inundations.

Among the total death incidents, Kavrepalanchok district registered the highest death toll with 72 so far. Likewise, 45 were killed in Lalitpur, 39 in Dhading, 19 in Kathmandu, and 10 in Sindhupalchok.  Gandaki, Karnali and Sudurpashchim Provinces have no human casualty report. 

Likewise, the government has announced plans to bring all highways except the BP Highway into operation within the next three days.

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport informed the Parliamentary Infrastructure Committee that all highways, except BP, will be operational in three days.

Ministry's Secretary Keshav Kumar Sharma briefed that a Bailey Bridge is being installed on the bridge connecting Khurkot in Sindhuli to Ramechhap.

However, he mentioned that it is not possible to immediately install a Bailey Bridge in Phoksingtar. According to him, an 80-metre Bailey Bridge is required for this location, but the government currently has only a 50-metre bridge, so time will be needed to procure the necessary bridge.

Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Devendra Dahal said that the reconstruction of roads and bridges would cost between Rs. 20 to Rs. 25 billion.

"The reconstruction of the BP Highway will take the most time. Twelve kilometres of the road have been completely washed away," he said.