Relief distribution faces problems as government acts alone, Janamat official says

Flood survivors in Nepal’s Rasuwa area are receiving rescue assistance, but many still lack a place to live and basic supplies, according to Janamat Party General Secretary Chandan Singh.

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There are four or five holding centres in Battar Bazaar where affected people are being accommodated. However, there has been no long-term arrangement for residents who have lost their homes.

Singh recently returned to Kathmandu after visiting affected areas and travelling there with relief supplies. He said four or five holding centres in Battar Bazaar were accommodating displaced people, but no long-term arrangement existed for residents who had lost their homes. Families who lost both homes and businesses also needed food and shelter in the centres.

Helicopters continued to support rescue operations in Battar, but managing survivors after rescue remained difficult. Singh also pointed to problems coordinating with relatives and identifying bodies.

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People who have lost both their homes and businesses also need to be accommodated in holding centres and provided with food and shelter.

Food is not the only urgent need. Singh said children whose homes were completely washed away had nothing except the clothes they were wearing, and some had worn the same clothes for five days. He called for immediate deliveries of clothing, bedding and blankets alongside food.

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There are small children whose homes were completely washed away. Apart from the clothes they were wearing, they have nothing left.

Singh said plans for an all-party mechanism covering search, rescue, relief and rehabilitation had not been effectively implemented. In his view, the lack of coordination between the political mechanism on the ground and the government had created additional problems, as authorities tried to manage the response alone.

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There is no coordination between the political mechanism on the ground and the government.