Kathmandu, January 10

Holding an emergency meeting with security agencies and concerned ministries, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today directed them to meet the needs of the snow-hit earthquake survivors immediately.

PM Oli’s Political Adviser Bishnu Rimal said the PM directed security agencies and he ministries concerned to dispatch emergency supplies to the snowfall-hit people of six village development committees of Gorkha, including Barpak and Laprak.

Barpak, the epicentre of the April 25 earthquake, is among the six VDCs of Gorkha that have been experiencing snowfall since yesterday.

Parliamentary Development Committee today directed the government to provide snowfall-hit quake survivors with warm clothes immediately.

Addressing the meeting of the PDC, PM Oli said he summoned senior officials of the home ministry, defence ministry, the Nepali Army, Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force today and directed them to do the needful to dispatch relief materials to snowfall-hit areas housing quake victims.

He added that the authorities had been instructed to release additional relief amount for the mountainous areas.

“The government has sent medical teams to the mountainous districts hit by snowfall and made arrangements for food supply there,” PM Oli said. The PM also claimed that the government had sufficient stock of foodstuffs and no place would face food scarcity.

During the emergency meeting, the PM directed the officials of home ministry and defence ministry to provide necessary relief materials to the quake survivors who were facing hardships due to heavy snowfall.

The meeting has also decided to dispatch a team of doctors, under the supervision of the Nepali Army, to quake-hit areas in upper reaches.

According to Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Bhim Rawal, essential medicines would be dispatched to Barpak and Laprak in a Nepali Army helicopter.

Snowfall adds to quake victims’ woes

GORKHA: Heavy snowfall, hailstones and rain have made life of quake victims, who have been taking shelter in tents in VDCs of Gorkha, more miserable.

Gorkha’s Laprak, Chhekembar, Samaguan, Larke, Barpak, Sipribas and Gumda VDCs experienced heavy snowfall on Saturday.

Those residing in tents say the freezing cold has hit children and elderly the most.

Gorkha CDO Uddavraj Timalsena said more than 550 quake victims in Gupsipakha of Laprak VDC, 1,400 in Barpak, 250 in Samagaun and 500 in Gumda had been hit by snowfall.

Inspector Shankar Acharya at Gorkha District Police Office said communication link to snowfall-hit VDCs had been cut off.

Timalsena said DAO had sought Rs 300 million, in addition to Rs 400 million it had got from the centre for quake victims in 48 VDCs, to distribute the sum among the victims in remaining VDCs.

A team of the Ministry of Home Affairs led by Joint Secretary Rameswor Dangal made a field visit to Laprak on Sunday.