The ruling Nepali Congress has urged the government to provide Rs50,000 at one go to the families affected by the earthquake that struck Jajarkot and Rukum West earlier this month. The government had earlier decided to provide the same amount to each family of the victims for the construction of shelters.

A meeting of the party’s office bearers and former office bearers on Wednesday urged the government to provide the financial support at one go, not in two tranches. During the meeting, leaders inquired with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka, who is also a party vice-president, and Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat whether the allocated money had reached the quake survivors. Both Khadka and Mahat expressed worries that several of the quake victims were deprived of the money to build temporary shelters, said Min Bishwakarma, head of the party’s publicity division.

The work plan drafted by the government states that the quake-hit families will receive Rs25,000 at first and the second instalment after they start building the houses.

The meeting also discussed political developments, including recent protests held in several parts of the country, particularly Kathmandu, and agreed that the fluid situation should be ended, office bearers said. The meeting agreed that the government should work towards ending the mass public frustration.

The office bearers’ meet comes ahead of the Mahasamiti meeting, the all-powerful policy-making body of the party, scheduled to be held on December 15–18 in Lalitpur. The meeting is expected to discuss national politics, economy, foreign policy, and other policies and programmes of the largest party.

“It is expected that the upcoming meeting will give some clear direction to the country,” Bishwakarma said. The Mahasamiti meeting should convene on time and should come up with a roadmap to end the state of political mess, he added.

The office bearers’ meeting also discussed the concerns raised by the internal affairs ministers of the seven provinces. The ministers met with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha and submitted a memorandum demanding an early conclusion of the provincial police’s adjustment issue. They are looking for separate arrangements of police management by the provinces themselves.

“We are still in the process of fully implementing the constitution,” said Bishwakarma. He said the party would come up with a concrete idea on the adjustment of police in each province without delay.

“There is no alternative to implementing this constitution,” he added. “If we implement it effectively, frustrations about the country’s politics and economy will be addressed automatically.”