Earthquake survivor Punyadevi Shrestha, 85, of Bhangeri, Ramechhap, who lost her house and husband in a major aftershock of the Gorkha Earthquake that jolted the country on May 12, 2015, says her family has been struggling to receive aid to rebuild her house.

Punyadevi’s husband Janak Bahadur Shrestha, 95, was buried to death in the debris. 

“The government has been distributing housing aid to those whose houses stood unscathed during the quake,” lamented Punyadevi. “But we have not been included in the list of those who are entitled to housing aid.”

Punyadevi’s son Dasarath has registered a complaint at the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA). “But, the NRA says our house is safe to live in,” said Dasarath, adding that his five-member family has been living in a temporary hut since the disaster. “We don’t own land anywhere in the country.” The family says they were not included in the list of housing aid beneficiaries due to negligence on the part of government officials and the NRA. 

Like Dasarath’s family, Sarmalal Sai’s family of Manthali Municipality-11 has also been deprived of housing aid. “Our house was destroyed by the quake, but the NRA did not include us in the housing aid list,” said Sai. “We have registered a complaint.” 

Six members of his family are also living in a temporary shelter. 

Rishiraj Acharya, chief of the secretariat of District Coordination Committee of the NRA, said the families who are not included in the housing aid list can file application again for re-assessment. 

The government has started distributing the second tranche (Rs 150,000) of housing aid to those who have completed the foundation of new houses after receiving the first tranche (Rs 50,000). The identified beneficiaries are entitled to Rs 300,000 as housing aid. The last instalment of Rs 100,000 will be distributed later. 

1,600 families in Kavre added to housing aid list 

The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has added 1,614 quake-affected families to the housing reconstruction aid list. Around 21,919 people had registered complaints with the NRA demanding housing reconstruction aid. Dhokalraj Dhakal, administrative officer at the District Administration Office, said the DAO has studied 8,383 complaints in the first phase. In the past, the NRA had included 67,711 households in the aid list in the district.