Dhading, January 15

Quake victims belonging to the Chepang community in Jogimara of Dhading bemoaned that they were yet to receive the relief fund meant for buying warm clothes.

Chepang folks are battling with bone-chilling cold and a looming food crisis as the government failed to distribute Rs 10,000 relief meant for warm clothes.

Ram Sharan Chepang from Jogimara-5 lamented that many fake victims had somehow procured the relief while the genuine victims were dying due to freezing cold.

Of the 46 VDCs and one municipality in the district, the relief fund is yet to be distributed in Jogimara and Kumpur VDCs.

Shuvraj Chepang, 65, complained saying, “We are dying due to the cold, but government officials come to the village, take records and leave without providing any help.”

Shyam Bahadur Chepang from Jogimara-5 said, “The government staff come to the village, take our details and go away. Sometimes they call us, but do not give us the amount for warm clothes,” said Shyam Bahadur.

Lal Bahadur Chepang from Jogimara-8 said though members from Phaya Nepal and VDC staff had come to his village to distribute the relief fund of Rs 10,000 today, they returned without distributing the amount after villages folks gathered for the fund.

He said the quake victims from Wards No 1 to 9 were called to three different places for relief distribution. “Though the quake victims gathered at the said places, the VDC staff returned without distributing the relief amount,” he said.

The April 25 earthquake destroyed as many as 1,546 houses in Jogimara. Of them, more than 650 families belong to the Chepang community.

VDC staff Parsuram Subedi said they could not distribute the relief amount due to lack of adequate fund.

He added that Phaya Nepal had come to distribute Rs 10,000 each to 1,000 families. “Since Jogimara has more than 1,500 quake victim families, we cancelled the relief distribution programme today,” he said.