Dhankuta, July 3

Around 50 per cent earthquake victims, who were in the list of beneficiaries, are yet to reconstruct their houses in Dhankuta district.

Earthquake Reconstruction District Project Implementation Authority, Dhankuta, said of the 2,799 quake damaged houses, only 962 houses were reconstructed in the district.

Chief of the authority Dadhiram Shrestha said that as many as 2,592 households had received the first instalment of the housing grant provided by the government and 2,080 households had taken the second instalment too. According to Shrestha, some beneficiaries, who received the first instalment of the housing grant, have not started reconstructing their houses yet. He informed that around 1, 500 houses are under-construction in the district.

The authority also informed that only 962 households have received the third instalment of the  grant. The government provides the third instalment only after completing the house construction, along with a toilet. And such houses should also be verified by the local levels. House reconstruction work has gained momentum in the district of late.

According to the office, as many as 61 persons from three municipalities and four rural municipalities in the district have submitted applications for the grant to retrofit their houses,but they have not signed any agreement with the government.