Miscellaneous
CBS to hold census in tremor-hit areas
With discrepancies in number of earthquake victims and amount of loss caused to property and infrastructure by the earthquake creating difficulties in distribution of sate-announced relief and facilities, the government is starting a fresh census from Saturday in 14 most affected districts.With discrepancies in number of earthquake victims and amount of loss caused to property and infrastructure by the earthquake creating difficulties in distribution of sate-announced relief and facilities, the government is starting a fresh census from Saturday in 14 most affected districts.
The government has asked the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) to conduct the fresh census.
Immediately after the April 25 earthquake, the government had collected details of quake-affected households, infrastructure and victims in the quake-affected villages by mobilising local government officials.
But there have been complaints that genuine earthquake victims were deprived of relief while bogus victims were securing it.
“The details collected immediately after the earthquake were meant for short-term purpose,” said Rudra Suwal, deputy director general of the CBS. “This time, we are collecting information in details.”
The census will begin from Dolakha. As many as 130 fresh graduate engineers and social mobilisers working in local bodies have already been deployed as surveyors in the district. Others will be gradually sent to other districts.
The CBS has set a target of completing the survey in all 14 districts by the end of April. “It will take around a month and a half to complete the survey in Dolakha,” said Suwal.
Officials involved in preliminary aid works suspect that some victims may have registered their names multiple times.
When Post interviewed 14 chief district officers of the quake-affected districts, as many as 100,000 more households than listed in the 2011 National Census had reportedly applied for relief.
Rs 10,000 relief to be ‘distributed in 10 days’
KATHMANDU: The government has decided to distribute winter relief package of Rs 10,000 to earthquake victims within next 10 days. A meeting of the Central Natural Disaster Relief Committee headed by Home Minister Shakti Basnet has decided to mobilise government officials in the Village Development Committees (VDCs) where VDC secretaries are not available and use security agencies’ vehicles or helicopters to make sure quake survivors get the relief package as soon as possible.
“The meeting decided to adopt all possible measures to distribute relief in the next 10 days,” said Home Ministry Joint-Secretary Rameshwor Dangal, who heads the Disaster Management Division. So far, only 270,000 households have received winter relief package.
- Quake facts
- Immediately after the quake, the government conducted preliminary survey
- Discrepancies cropped up, making it difficult for the government to distribute relief
- Govt decides to ask Central Bureau of Statistics to conduct fresh census in 14 most affected districts
- CBS will start survey from Dolakha from Saturday
- CBS aims to complete the census by the end of April, when the country will marks the first anniversary of the devastating quake
- CBS hopes data will be helpful in reconstruction process