The rescuers have yet to reach some of the worst-hit villages in Gorkha, Dhading, Sindhupalchok, Kavre and Nuwakot, among other districts. Scores of settlements have been cut off from transportation and telecommunication services after the Great Earthquake. The injured have not received treatment three days past the disaster, while the displaced have been compelled to languish, hungry under the open sky.

Our correspondents in various districts have reported that despite rescue workers wanting to reach affected areas, relief works have been held back by the lack of coordination among the authorities, and the problem has exacerbated for various reasons including adverse weather and geographical hindrances.

The district relief fund, which should be the source of immediate relief to the victims, has also run dry.

At the epicentre

While rescue efforts have started trickling in some areas, many of the injured are yet to receive care. While 231 injured have been airlifted till date, rescue personnel said hundreds were yet to be reached. However, at least 10 tonnes of relief materials have been dropped in some affected areas.

“I talked to my mother on the phone on Sunday,” said Aash Maya Gurung of Manbu in Gorkha. “She told me our house was destroyed and that she had eaten only one meal since the quake. Nobody has reached the village yet, and we could send nothing to her by way of relief,” said Gurung.

She said the telephone services had been cut off for the past two days. “We can’t even imagine the plight of the villagers there.” Victims have been left in the lurch in some VDCs in the northern region of the district.

“In many villages, telephone and road have been inaccessible. It’s getting alarmingly late to rescue the injured and provide relief, food and tents,” said Hari Ghale, Gorkha president of the Nepali Congress. Ghale arrived in Pokhara on Monday evening to help coordinate response.

District Relief Fund in Gorkha lacks funds

The relief amount has yet to reach the centres that are supposed to distribute the district relief funds in Gorkha, the epicentre of and one of the worst-hit districts of Saturday’s earthquake. The local administration could not provide even food and tents owing to the money not getting to the intended places. The fund is managed by the Home Ministry, which generally has about Rs 100,000 to 200,000 in stock. “The amount in the fund is too meagre to manage relief. We have requested the money, but it has not arrived yet. We have asked for loans from the District Development Committee and municipalities after deciding to do so at an all-party meeting,” said the Chief District Officer of Gorkha Uddhav Prasad Timilsena. He said the district needs thousands of tents, but the local administration neither has the budget to purchase tents, nor are the tents available in local markets.

Kavre and Sindhupalchok

Bhuwan Shrestha, a resident of Panchkhal-16 in Kavre district, lost everything in Saturday’s earthquake. His wife, Ramal, and daughter, Aayushma, died in the disaster that destroyed his house. Around 500 fowl in his poultry farm were killed. He has stopped hoping for anything from the government. “We are forced to live under the open sky. It will be a huge relief if the authorities provided a tent immediately,” he said.

For quake victims like Shrestha and other locals, the situation worsened even further with the rain on Tuesday. Just 1,000 tents arrived in the district on that day, and when they did the political leaders wanted to divert tents to their own constituencies. Two-hundred-and-fifty tents had been allocated for four constituencies in the district.

In Sindhupalchok, the rescue teams are yet to reach eight VDCs, including, Bhotang, Baruwa, Tatopani, Marming and Listi. While relief and rescue efforts are on, hundreds still have not been provided relief and treatment.

Dhading and Nuwakot

The rescue and relief teams are unable to reach some of the most-affected VDCs. The disruption of road networks in the area, except at Salyantar and Sunaulabazaar, has further hampered rescue and relief efforts. Rescue choppers belonging to Indian Air Force could not land in Khalte and Sertung on Tuesday.

In Nuwakot, the local administration has decided to provide Rs 7,000 each to the quake victims as immediate relief. Chief District Officer Kosh Hari Niraula said the relief amount had been handed over to the VDC secretaries and they would start providing the money from Wednesday. The victims criticised the local administration for the delay. As of Tuesday, 563 people had been confirmed dead in the district while thousands of houses have been destroyed.