KATHMANDU: The Social Justice and Human Rights Committee of the Legislature-Parliament has directed the government to treat all the victims of all types of natural disasters equally.

At a meeting of the House panel today, Committee Chair Sushil Kumar Shrestha told the government not to discriminate against the victims on the basis of types of natural disasters. “The victims of all natural disasters should be treated equally while distributing relief, conducting search and rescue, and handling post-disaster relief operations,” Shrestha said.

As several steep slopes, unstable hills and mountains and rural settlements shaken by the quakes are vulnerable to landslides, floods and debris flows during the monsoon, the committee instructed the government to effectively respond to victims.

The government has been directed not to discriminate against victims on the basis of types of disasters

“The committee has directed the government to provide relief assistance to the kin of the persons killed and injured and rendered homeless by other natural disasters as equal as what it gave to the quake victims,” Shrestha said.

The committee has also directed the government not to differentiate between the disaster victims of rural and urban areas, and to make the one-door system in relief distribution more effective to ensure that it reaches the hands of the genuine victims.

The government has been told to make the search and rescue and relief operations more effective for proper handing of the situation after the occurrence of natural disasters. Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam said the government was committed to doing justice to all the victims regardless of the types of natural disasters they have faced. “The government has strengthened disaster preparedness to combat any untoward situation in the aftermath of natural disasters,” he informed the committee.