National
Displaced brace for harsh winter
The approaching winter will affect hundreds of earthquake-displaced people who are already living under poor conditions.Disaster Management Division under the Ministry of Home Affairs has said that owing to the lack of budget and technical support, it could not make any plan to address the harsh conditions the earthquake-affected families are likely to suffer this winter.The approaching winter will affect hundreds of earthquake-displaced people who are already living under poor conditions.
Disaster Management Division under the Ministry of Home Affairs has said that owing to the lack of budget and technical support, it could not make any plan to address the harsh conditions the earthquake-affected families are likely to suffer this winter.
Rameshwor Dangal, joint-secretary and head of the division, said the plan is to build permanent shelters for the displaced families, but that will not be possible before this year’s winter. He added all that the government could do is distribute clothes, blankets and other essentials to the earthquake displaced.
“The delay in endorsement of the legislation to form the proposed National Reconstruction Authority is hampering the rehabilitation and reconstruction activities,” Dangal said.
A sudden wet spell since Wednesday night has dropped temperatures in different parts of the country. It has mostly affected the earthquake-displaced people living in temporary settlements since April. Various developmental partners and organisations have expressed concerns over the deteriorating living state of the displaced families, especially of women, children and elderly persons.
On Thursday, Oxfam released a report stating that six months after the earthquake, around 59,000 people remain in more than 120 temporary settlements in 13 districts, some of which are due to close soon. It has urged the authorities to provide shelter materials and additional support to victims living in camps and inform them about quake-resistant buildings.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that nearly 85 percent of shelter units in displacement sites are unsuitable for winter.
“Durable shelter materials and items such as blankets, warm clothes and cooking source urgently need to be delivered,” OCHA report said. Earlier this week, the United Nations had also expressed its concern about food and shelter arrangement for 80,000 displaced families.
Official data show that 2.8 million people have had their houses destroyed or damaged by the earthquake. The earthquake destroyed more than 600,000 houses and damaged close to 300,000 others.