PM visits disaster-hit Sindhupalchowk; assures of relief to survivors and their rehabilitation
Kathmandu, May 5, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala Monday visited Sindhupalchowk,
the district most affected by the April 25 Gorkha earthquake.In course of his
visit to the district on a Nepal Army helicopter, the PM make an aerial
inspection of the damages incurred in Sankhu, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and
Melamchi , Chautara, Listi and Tatopani of Sindhupalchowk.
The chopper carrying PM Koirala landed at the
district headquarters Chautara and the remote village Listikot. On the occasion, he took information about
the search, rescue and relief efforts going on there. He interacted with disaster survivors at Listikot and assured
them of sufficient relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged
physical infrastructure.
In Chautara, the
Prime Minister was apprised of the earthquake damages by Chief District Officer
Krishna Prasad Gyawali. He directed the
bodies concerned to allocate relief goods to the survivors without any delay
and justifiably with setting priorities.
On the occasion,
the Prime Minister said most shops in Kathmandu were closed following the earthquake, causing
difficulty in collecting relief goods while the assistance from foreign land
was not as per the need. He directed the CDO to supply relief materials to the
needy once they reach the district, according to PM's press advisor Prakash
Adhikari.
Besides, he urged
the authority concerned to reach to the people with relief packages announced
by the government soon. The government has already announced Rs 100,000 each to
the bereaved family and Rs 40,000 for conducting last rites of the deceased. Prime
Minister Koirala in Listikot
PM Koirala on
Monday arrived at Listikot, a rural village of Sindhupalchowk district, to
inquire of the grievances of the quake victims.The surface of the village has
ruptured following the massive earthquake with majority of residential
buildings, schools, health posts, monasteries including many cultural and
religious monuments razed to the ground.
On the occasion,
PM talked with the locals who had assembled at the premises of Ugrachandi
Secondary School and said that the earthquake had saddened all and that his
residence also had a fissure.He said the government had prepared a long lasting
plan for reconstructing the damaged buildings and public infrastructure.
PM Koirala
expressed grief that 90 per cent of the buildings in the district had collapsed
and stressed support to the villages ridden with crisis. He said that it was
time to make the rescue and relief work more affective. Furthermore, PM Koirala
said it was government's duty to protect lives and pledged the government would
look after the survivors.
Information on
relief works
The District
Natural Disaster Management Committee under the command of Chief District
Officer Krishna Prasad Gyawali and Joint Secretary Basanta Raj Gautam is
working to facilitate the rescue and relief efforts. Melamchi Project's Executive
Director Dhanshyam Bhattarai is also carrying out the effort.
CDO Gyawali
apprised PM Koirala of the losses and the relief efforts being undertaken at
this time of crisis. Gyawali said that relief distribution centers had been
established at Bahrabise, Chautara and Melamchi and added that the demand for
smaller tarpaulin sheets were high. He underlined the difficulties in
coordinating with non government organizations in distributing relief packages
to the quake victims.
Noting that it
was difficult to dispatch relief materials to quake survivors in northern VDCs
of the district, he shared that work is underway to clear the road from
Melamchi to Helambu for the same.
On the occasion,
Joint Secretary Basanta Raj Gautam, who has been assigned to facilitate rescue
and relief operations, said power service was yet to become regular in all the
affected areas and underlined the need to bring special programme to repair,
reconstruct and operate devastated government offices there.
Chief District
Officer Gyawali said some 216 inmates of District Prison escaped from the jail.
He informed that 383 out of 557 schools of the district have been damaged while
16 teachers lost their lives to quake.
Physical Losses CDO
Gyawali further briefed that as many as 3,656 people have so far lost their
lives to earthquake in Sindhupalchowk district with 68 VDCs and two
municipalities. Among them, 2,838 deceased have been identified. Likewise,
4,058 have sustained injuries.
Some 273 quake
survivors were rescued alive with the use of helicopter while 625 were taken
out from the debris.As many as 61,377 makeshift houses, 2,708 cemented, 1,322
RCC-pillared and 651 wooden houses in Sindhupalchowk district have witnessed
damages in the catastrophe.
Similarly, 166
injured are undergoing treatment in Kathmandu while 102 are being treated in
Chautara. Some 267 quake-injured have returned to their homes after treatment.