Dhanding, April 25

It has been three years since devastating earthquakes hit the country. However, most of the earthquake victims of Dhading district are still living in temporary huts, thanks to sluggish reconstruction work.

In the wake of the 2015 earthquakes, the government had launched a campaign to complete reconstruction work within three years, but the government has failed to do so. Quake victims said that reconstruction work could not gain momentum due to artificial shortage of construction materials. They added that the prices of gravel, sand, rods, cement and zinc sheets, among other necessary materials, had increased unexpectedly.

Shiva Bahadur Thapa, a quake victim from Thakre rural municipality, said reconstruction work could not be completed on time due to lack of skilled manpower in rural areas. “Shortage of skilled manpower has adversely affected construction work,” he added. Technicians said that it would take seven years to reconstruct all the quake-damaged houses if the work moved ahead at the same pace.

According to National Reconstruction Authority District Implementation Unit, as many as 81,000 individual houses were damaged by the 2015 earthquakes. Of them, only 74,000 households were registered in the list of beneficiaries. As many as 69,601 beneficiaries have already taken the first instalment as per the NRA District Implementation Unit, Dhading.

Chief engineer at the unit Rabindra Panjiyar said only 59 pc beneficiaries, who had received the first instalment, have been recommended for the second. Reconstruction of 12,802 houses in the district has been completed till date.  Chairman of Tripura Sundari Rural Municipality Shambhu Thapa said reconstruction work could not gain momentum as youths left the district for foreign employment.