DHANGADI, OCTOBER 22
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba discussed the post-disaster situation in Surdurpaschim Province with ministers of the provincial government yesterday.
During the discussions held in Dhangadi, the ministers advised the central government to announce the disaster-hit areas the crisis-hit zones and announce as well as implement relief packages, including the rebuilding programme for the survivors, according to Sudurpaschim Minister of Internal Affairs and Law Purna Joshi.
Besides, the Province Government urged the prime minister to establish a 'basket fund' targeting the agricultural sector and other areas facing the disaster consequences and to work together with the province and local governments for the relief of the survivors.
Minister Joshi, who also serves as the spokesperson for the Province Government, said, "We have advised the central government to prioritise the post-disaster response."
In response, the prime minister pledged to come up with plans to deal with the post-disaster crisis once he returned to Kathmandu.
Province government Chief Secretary Madhusudan Burlakoti met with the prime minister today and suggested him to operate the road that has been obstructed due to landslide triggered by rain.
Chief Secretary Burlakoti said," I have suggested managing a separate aircraft of Nepal Airlines Corporation at Dhangadi airport for providing air services to the hilly districts of the province."
PM Deuba has returned to Kathmandu today after taking stock of the flood and landslide-hit, areas in Doti, Bajhang, Baitadi, Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur and Kailali districts.
He was accompanied by Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale, former ministers NP Saud, Ramesh Lekhak and Bir Bahadur Balayar, among others.
Until this morning, 33 people have died and 22 have gone missing in the flood, landslide and inundation in Sudurpaschim Province following incessant rains for three days since October 17.
Similarly, 17 houses have been damaged in the disaster.
Thousands of families have been displaced due to inundation in the Tarai districts of the province - Kailali and Kanchanpur. Paddy crop in a large amount has also been destroyed in the province.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 23, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
