KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 20
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has directed the authorities concerned to work for rescue, relief distribution, and rehabilitation of those displaced by the recent series of landslides, floods, and inundation.
Addressing the 8th meeting of the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management here today, Prime Minister Deuba, also the chairperson of the Council, directed the Ministry of Finance to ensure that disaster management operations did not face budget crunch.
During the meeting, representatives of the Ministry of Finance assured that there would not be budget crisis for disaster management operation. The meeting was attended by federal ministers, chief ministers of various provinces, secretaries of government agencies and security officials.
The meeting decided to expedite search and rescue, relief and rehabilitation drive, according to Chief of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Anil Pokharel.
Pokharel, also member-secretary of the Council, shared that the prime minister had instructed the concerned bodies to take up field visits for search, rescue, relief distribution and rehabilitation drive as the rain-triggered flood, landslides and inundation had wreaked havoc in many parts of the country, mainly the far western region.
PM Deuba also said that he would make field visits to the disaster-hit areas, according to Pokharel. "A separate fund will be initiated to resume road connectivity, power supply and communication mediums obstructed in the recent disasters," he said.
"The decisions include providing compensation to farmers whose crops were destroyed in the disasters after assessing details of the preliminary loss," he said. The Ministry of Agriculture has been tasked to collect and assess details of the loss.
"The meet also decided to use private helicopters for rescue efforts as the helicopters of Nepali Army were not enough," said Pokharel.
The displaced people have been evacuated to public places and school buildings. Food will be made available to the victims. Initiatives have been taken to provide Rs 50,000 in immediate relief for constructing makeshift shelters. Work to clear the debris at the obstructed highways in various 15 districts is under way. The meeting discussed the issue of raising voice on the impacts of climate change extensively in the international forum. According to the latest details, 52 people have been killed and over 30 others have gone missing in the disasters across 19 districts of the country.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 21, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
