Hetauda, February 1

Quake victims of Makawanpur complained that they were deprived of timely government grants for reconstruction of their damaged houses in the district.

Speaking at a public hearing organised at Shikharkatteri of Makawanpurgadi Rural Municipality today, the victims complained that they were unable to receive the grants on time due to technicians’ delay in monitoring.

The programme was jointly held by Transparency International Nepal and Radio Makawanpur.

Likewise, some victims complained that they were excluded from the victims’ list and they were thus deprived of state grants.

District Technical Office Makawanpur Chief Somnath Timilsena said the victims would also be provided grants even if the technicians found the houses not meeting the criteria set by the National Reconstruction Authority. The houses only needed to be quake-resistant. He said that the government would pay the interest on three lakh rupees bank loan taken by victims.