SURKHET: Families of diarrhoea affected people of Jajarkot district have started purchasing medicines with the money collected through donation recently.

They resorted to the fundraising after their kin were not provided with enough medicine by the government. Though the government has claimed that there is availability of the medicine in the diarrhoea hit areas, residents in areas are compelled to buy medicine.

People of Dasera VDC of the district purchased three quintals of medicine after collecting five hundred rupees from each household. The money was collected in the initiation ‘local community service forum, Jajarkot’. They purchased medicines from Surkhet.

Assistant Secretary of the organisation Harka Bahadur Buda, who arrived to Surkhet to buy medicines, said, “We’re compelled to buy medicines with our money as the medicine provided by the government was too meagre.” He also lamented as people with political tie-ups managed to get sufficient medicine provided by the government

“Real victims, those having no links with political leaders, haven’t got the medicine yet,” Buda said claiming that the medicine ferried in the helicopters could not reach to the targeted populace.

“People are still dying as the health camps are far away from most of the affected villages,” he said. According to him, more than 100 affected people of Dasera VDC have not got medicine yet. “Condition of people having low financial status is deterioratingas they are compelled to buy medicine with lending money.”

Meanwhile, State Minister for Health and Population, Khadga Bahadur Basyal, visited four diarrhoea affected VDCs of Jajarkot district yesterday. He reached in Majkot, Khagenkot, Nayakbada and Garkakot VDCs with six quintals of medicine. Majkot is the worst-hit area with altogether 23 deaths.