INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
RAUTAHAT, AUGUST 9There are allegations of misuse of the government's COVID relief
fund in Rautahat's Durga Bhagawati Rural Municipality.
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Locals have accused local representatives and staff of depositing the relief meant for COVID-affected
poor households in Matsari of Ward No 3 of Durga Bhagawati in the accounts of dead persons and non-citizens by sidestepping the standard
criteria.The standard criteria of the government disqualifies families whose members are employed in any private, government or any
organisations at home or abroad or are already receiving government allowances in any form, to get the relief.
But,
apparently, these criteria have been flouted to oblige people other than those eligible.Faudi Sah, who lost his wife to COVID-19 and has
been living a hard life ever since, has rued how he kept waiting for relief while those who weren't as affected and fared better during the
COVID period managed to pocket the relief much to the dismay of genuine victims."What sort of justice is this?" he asked.Local Krishnamani
Badshah expressed surprise at how those who spent long time in quarantine and whose family members died of COVID were excluded from the
government relief.Relief was deposited in the bank accounts of some 83 persons, most of them were not affected to qualify for the
relief.When asked, secretary of the ward Umesh Chaudhary said he was not involved in preparing the list of beneficiaries.A version of this
article appears in the print on August 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
