Sindhuli quake victims complain against NRA

Sindhulimadi, August 28

As the National Reconstruction Authority started distributing Rs 50,000 of the first instalment of the Rs two lakh pledged to quake victims for house construction, the number of people registering complaints against NRA has increased in Sindhuli.

Alleging that their names did not appear in the list of beneficiaries, many people from Kamalamai and Dudhauli Municipalities, and 50 VDCs have registered their complaints against the NRA.

People said their names were not included in the list of quake victims due to negligence on the part of engineers.

Bhuwan BK of Hatpate VDC-4 said that he had filed a complaint at the VDC as his name was not included in the list of victims prepared by the NRA. BK has been living in a makeshift tent after the tremor reduced his house to rubble.

“The list has names of those who did not even have a house at the village,” BK alleged.

He added that negligence and dishonesty on the part of the VDC secretary, the social mobiliser and the engineer involved in data collection and verification process was the reason behind this.

Murali Achhami of Jhajheli Ratmata said he had also registered a complaint at the VDC office. “Those included in the list have started receiving the first instalment, while people like me are forced to live in a tent,” Achhami bemoaned.

Complaints have been registered individually and collectively in Sindhuli.

As many as 14,699 complaints have been registered so far in the district. VDC secretaries say that the number of people filing grievances is increasing.

Padam Moktan of Jinakhu warned that not heeding the complaints of the ‘real’ victims would encourage non-victims to take advantage. “We have been waiting for government assistance for the past one year. Let alone support, we have not even been included in the victims’ list,” Moktan said.

Some irate locals warned they would disrupt the process of signing agreement on the grant amount if they were not included in the list of beneficiaries. Due to the warning, the agreement signing process has not started at Hatpate, Harsahi, Jalkanya and Ratanchura VDCs.

According to an earlier data, the number of victims receiving red cards stood at 22,186 in Sindhuli.

The number of victims increased to 34,256 in the latest data collection. Those who got Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 as relief earlier too have not figured in the final list of beneficiaries.