Quake victim families purchase land

  • Twenty-four households received Rs 200,000 each

Dhading, March 2

Two dozen families in the remote villages in northern Dhading, who were displaced in the 2015 earthquakes about three years ago, have purchased land after they received the government grant.

After getting the government-pledged amount of Rs 200,000, the families bought land in safe place. In the first phase, the government had published a list of 200 quake victim families for the government grant for purchasing land in the district. Of them, 24 families have received the grant.

“We provided them the grant after they met necessary procedures,” said Dhading chief of National Reconstruction Authority Rabichandra Panjiyar.

In the wake of the quake, the government had sent a team of lawmakers to five remote villages of the district — Tipling, Sertung, Lapa, Jharlang and Ri — to assess the threat to the villages there. The team had then suggested that 47 settlements in the villages be shifted elsewhere in view of the threat of further natural disasters. The families living in the risky settlements had moved to the district headquarters and other safe places.

As per the criteria, the quake victims who are residents of the risky settlements and don’t have land elsewhere are entitled to the grant. The land purchased will be held in joint ownership of the husband and wife of each family. Community Self-reliant Service Centre of Dhading is facilitating the process.