Rs 60 crore relief for conflict hit

KATHMANDU: The government has approved Rs 60 million to be distributed as relief among the victims of the decade-long armed conflict. The amount will be provided to the victims of conflict, torture and the families of the disappeared.

The Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers has issued a circular to the ministries to implement the recommendation of National Human Rights Commission with regard to dispensing relief. The NHRC had recommended the government to provide relief to the victims and to punish the securitymen involved in abusing rights.

"We have received a circular from the PMO to this effect," an official at Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation told this daily. The order has been circulated to the ministries of Home Affairs, Finance and Peace and Reconstruction.

Gauri Pradhan, an NHRC commissioner, lauded the government's decision. "This is an indication of the government's willingness to compensate the victims and to pay heed to our suggestion," he said. Around 1,100 persons had disappeared during the armed insurgency. According to Pradhan, the NHRC, while deciding 200 cases, had recommended relief for the afflicted.