Dolakha, May 1

The pre-monsoon storms and rainfall have badly affected earthquake victims in various villages of Dolakha who are still taking shelter in temporary huts.

Victims complained that strong winds coupled with rainfall had made life very difficult for them, with the wind blowing away corrugated zinc sheet roofs of their temporary shelters.

Padam Bahadur Thami, a local at Kalinchowk Rural Municipality, said that he did not have the money to build a safe home for his family. “It has been raining almost every day, making our lives miserable,” he said. He further added that quake victims would often have to run after their zinc roofs during a storm.

Kalinchowk area also received light snowfall today, adding to the woes of victims. The temporary shelters cannot protect them from the cold.

Gyalbo Pakhrin, a hotel entrepreneur at Kalinchowk Rural Municipality, said that children, pregnant women, new mothers, and the elderly have been affected the most.

A local, Bal Bahadur Thami of Lapilang Village, said that almost all quake victims live in temporary shelters, and even those who had begun constructing their homes had been forced to halt construction because of continuing rain and storm.

Chhyoter Sherpa of Bigu Rural Municipality said that the government’s delay in providing the second instalment of the grant to reconstruct their homes had further slowed construction work.

Ruk Mani Siwakoti of Bhimeshwor Municipality said that he has yet to receive the second instalment amount to complete the remaining work.

Meanwhile, the Reconstruction Authority District Coordination Committee said that almost 17 per cent of the reconstruction work had been completed so far, and it aimed to complete 40 per cent within this year.

The authority added that the pace of reconstruction at the moment was too slow to reach the target.

According to the authority, as many as 1,700 households had received the amount for second instalment.