Price hike of cement adds woes to quake victims

BY RAJU LAMICHHANE,Rukum West, Jan. 25:The earthquake-affected people in Rukum West have been further disappointed by a hike in cement prices when they were busy reconstructing their houses. One year after the earthquake, the government introduced a reconstruction policy and the victims began reconstructing their houses. 

However, the unexpected rise in cement prices has added woes to the people whose houses were damaged by the quake on November 3, 2023. 

Amrit Regmi from Chaurjahari Municipality-1 said that cement was not available at the time when he started rebuilding his house. He said that the price had increased unexpectedly, making it difficult to continue construction. This situation has caused problems for hundreds of earthquake victims, he added.

Ramesh Malla from Aathbiskot Municipality-14 said that the rise in cement prices during the construction season has put him in a difficult situation. After the earthquake damaged his house, he had been living in a temporary shelter. After the government promised assistance for reconstruction, he began building his house. However, the sudden price hike of cement has left him uncertain about how to proceed. He said that during a crisis when people have lost their homes, discounts on construction materials should be provided as relief instead of hiking prices.  

Manoj Khadka, the district secretary of the Construction Business Association, stated that the unnatural increase in cement prices would negatively affect development and reconstruction work. He said that locals, consumer committees and construction businesses were all affected by the price hike. He said that the price increase of construction materials like cement had directly impacted the reconstruction efforts in the earthquake-affected areas.