KATHMANDU, MARCH 6
The federal government has sanctioned a total of Rs 299.9 million in grants to the District Disaster Management Fund of 22 districts for reconstruction of private houses damaged or destroyed by the monsoon last year.
Similarly, Rs 28.88 million was credited to the DDMF of eight out of 22 most-affected districts to purchase land for those families who were required to be relocated elsewhere from their original place of residence.
According to a report recently released by the MoHA, as many as 4,937 disaster survivors from 22 districts will be entitled to the monetary support in line with the Monsoon-induced Disaster Affected Private Housing Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Grant Procedure, 2021.
It said it was preparing to release additional budget to complete the post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation.
The districts hit by monsoon-disasters include Rasuwa, Myagdi, Bhojpur, Darchula, Parbat, Kaski, Arghakhanchi, Sindhuli, Rolpa, Ramechhap, Jajarkot, Kalikot, Bajhang, Doti, Panchthar, Dadeldhura, Humla, Dhankuta, Rukum (West), Udayapur, Makawanpur, Ilam, Rupandehi, Mugu, Gulmi, Baglung, Baitadi, Pyuthan, Jumla, and Sindhupalchowk.
As many as 504 people were killed in various natural and non-natural disasters across the country during the year 2021. According to the MoHA, the figure is slight lower than the casualties (546) recorded in 2020. A total of 504 people, including 210 females, lost their lives to disasters, especially landslides and floods, between June and October.
Similarly, 1,750 people were injured and 74 others went missing.
Landslides stand as the deadliest disaster, claiming 178 lives and leaving 134 others injured, mainly in the districts of Sudurpaschim Province and other districts. Likewise, fire killed 97 people, flood (6), lightning (55) and snakebite (20), among others.
Disasters affected 6,463 families across the country.
Earlier, the government had decided to provide Rs 300,000 to 500,000 to people displaced by floods and landslides to build their houses.
Disasters such as landslide, flood, lightning, fire and inundation destroyed 5,531 houses and caused economic loss of around Rs 2.47 billion. According to statistics at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, paddy crops cultivated on more than 153,000 hectare land were fully or partially damaged due to unseasonal rainfall that lashed the country, mainly in Sudurpaschim Province, in mid-October.
The MoHA has attributed above-average rainfall for the widespread incidents of disaster and huge loss of lives.
The MoHA said that the government had also decided to distribute compensation to farmers whose paddy crops were affected by the natural disaster.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 7, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
