Kathmandu, November 25

Development partners of Nepal today said trade disruption at Nepal-India border points was affecting lives of people, especially earthquake victims living in high mountains, who are likely to be deprived of support during the winter.

“The ongoing political and economic crisis will have impact on growth and slow down poverty reduction efforts,” Swiss Ambassador to Nepal, Urs Harren, who was speaking on behalf of development partners based in Nepal, told the local donors’ meeting held here today, adding, “We are especially concerned about the impact of supply constraints on quake victims living in high altitude.”

Gail Marzetti, head of UK government’s Department for International Development, who was in Gorkha during the weekend, spoke on the same line.

“Winter is approaching in the high hills and people are cold. There might be another humanitarian crisis if necessary steps are not taken on time,” she said.

Beth Dunford, mission director of the United States Agency for International Development in Nepal, called on the government to ensure dedicated fuel supply to reach out to earthquake victims living in higher altitude.

The earthquakes of April and May caused widespread destruction to housing and human settlements and rendered thousands of people homeless. With the exception of Kathmandu Valley, most of the places affected by quakes are rural and those who sustained the worst impact of the disasters are the poor.

Despite this, the government has not done much to support quake victims due to political wrangling over formation of the National Authority for Reconstruction (NAR) and latest disruption in supplies of various commodities, including petroleum products.

Development partners today called on the government to immediately form the NAR so that reconstruction and rehabilitation works could be executed in a coordinated manner.

“Without guidance of NAR, reconstruction and rehabilitation works may lack coordination,” Swiss Ambassador Harren said. He also indicated the government was backtracking on its commitment made during the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction held on June 25 by delaying formation of the NAR.

During the June 25 conference, the country had secured funding commitments of around $4.4 billion from various nations and agencies for reconstruction and rehabilitation works. One of the reasons why Nepal had received such a huge funding commitment was the pledge made by the government to expedite the process of establishing the NAR.

Responding to concerns expressed by donor agencies, Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel said the Reconstruction Bill, which will pave the way for formation of the NAR, was in Parliament for approval.

“The government is making sincere efforts to get the Bill approved,” said Paudel, adding, “Till the time the Bill is endorsed and NAR established, the National Planning Commission has been given the authority to oversee works related to reconstruction and rehabilitation.”