Rajbiraj, September 14

Flood victims of Tilathi VDC in Saptari today complained about irregularities and demanded stern action against people involved in the distribution of relief.

A group comprising 300 locals, some travelling more that 10 kilometres, visited Chief District Officer Bal Dev Gautam and complained about the irregularities.

They have warned that they will stage protests if action is not taken against the guilty.

They accused VDC secretary Om Prakash Thakur and technical assistant Mithiles Jha of abusing the grants meant for as many as 667 families.

“The VDC is preparing a list of 667 victim families from all nine wards of the VDC, but we have discovered that the relief amount was meant for approximately 579 families and the rest was embezzled,” said former lawmaker Shiva Chandra Mishra.

According to him, District Disaster Rescue Committee had provided Rs 3,000 cash relief for each household, but till date only 88 families of ward 2 have received the said amount.

“As we didn’t get any relief till mid-September, we went to the VDC office to inquire But the record shows that as many as 579 families were provided with relief. Hence, we have come to talk to the CDO regarding this matter,” said Mishra.

The delegation led by former lawmaker and former DDC member Dev Narayan Yadav has demanded fair investigation into the irregularity, action against the guilty and relief distribution to the victims who were left out at the earliest.

CDO Gautam has since then pledged fair investigation into the complaints, relief to the victims and action against the guilty parties.