Kathmandu, July 16

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has issued a circular to chief administrative officers of all local levels, directing them not to leave their work stations.

The directive comes in the wake of huge loss of lives and property due to floods, landslides and inundation triggered by torrential rain in various parts of the country.“The MoFAGA requests the chief administrative officers of all local levels not to leave their work stations. Those absent are urged to return immediately to the office and perform their duties within 24 hours,” read the circular issued by the Local Level Employee Administration Section of the ministry.

Search, rescue and relief operations were affected in some local levels due to the absence of concerned chief administrative officers, according to MoFAGA.

The circular, however, did not mention the names of the local levels and the absentee chief administrative officers. But it has urged the absentee chief administrative officers to return to their offices and carry out relief and recovery works without delay. The constitution and the Local Government Operations Act-2017, have clearly stated on the functions, duties and powers of the local levels regarding disaster management.

The local bodies have also been directed to implement the Cabinet’s decisions on July 14,  regarding the incidents of natural disasters.

As per the decisions, local authorities will have to work to provide relief materials for the disaster victims in their concerned areas, ensure medical treatment of the injured, provide financial assistance to the families who lost their member/s to the disaster, deploy medical teams to prevent the outbreak of communicable diseases in disaster-hit areas and coordinate with the concerned agency for resumption of essential services.

The government has already decided to carry out relief operations thorough one-door system lead by local bodies.

Recovery and reconstruction works in disaster hit areas will start after collection of data on the loss of lives and property, stated the circular.