INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 5Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has issued directives for making the relief and
rehabilitation for the Jajarkot earthquake victims effective.
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Addressing the meeting of the
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management National Council held in Singha Durbar today, he instructed the bodies concerned to carry out the
relief and rehabilitation operations with the necessary preparation and by taking the earthquake affected people into confidence.PM Dahal
expressed profound sorrow over the big loss of life and property caused by the earthquake and stressed on the need of utilizing the disaster
as an important opportunity for reconstruction.
The 13th meeting of the Council was convened to discuss the damage caused
by the devastating earthquake that hit Jajarkot and Rukum Paschim, and the steps the government needs to initiate in its aftermath.On the
occasion, the PM directed one and all to be serious on making the post-quake rescue, relief and reconstruction effective, describing the
initiatives made by the three tiers of the government and other bodies immediately after the disaster as positive.He stated that
preparations have been made to carry out works in a prompt manner by restructuring the existing Acts, regulations and structures based on
the good practices during the time of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake."I thank all the parties, the federal government and various agencies, the
provincial government and the local governments for their post-earthquake initiatives
We should have carried out works related to search, rescue and treatment yesterday, which we have basically completed
Now, we need to concentrate on relief and rehabilitation," the PM reiterated.He directed for managing warm clothes to the earthquake victims
and for making treatment for them effective
Reminding that Nepal is a country vulnerable to natural disaster, the PM acknowledged that the government's initiatives and raising
people's awareness on this have not been adequate."For the next three days, let us make maximum efforts for relief
Rehabilitation has to be made effective and we need the required Act, work procedure and structure for the same
The reconstruction works are not seen to be effective with the existing Act, procedures and structure
We need to make a sound review of our past experiences as well," PM Dahal reiterated.Stating that an effective work relating to earthquake
had not taken place following the 2015 earthquake, he stressed the need for a study on the geological condition and risks
"We must think about carrying out a geological study and establishing human settlements
We should work to keep all required materials during disasters
Now, we store such materials
We will adopt a one-door system to distribute relief materials
We will stop misuse of relief materials.We will create an environment that reliefs are distributed through the central, provincial and local
governments."In the meeting, participants including Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Finance Minister Dr
Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock
Development Dr Beduram Bhusal, Minister for Education, Science and Technology Ashok Kumar Rai, Minister for Urban Development Sita Gurung,
Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala and Chief of the Army Staff Prabhuram Sharma commended activeness and hard
work shown by PM Dahal during the quake."Prime Minister himself took initiatives in rescue efforts
Rescue efforts have almost been complete
Now, there are no reports of missing people
So, our focus should be on relief distribution," said DPM Shrestha.PM's activeness during the disaster showed the seriousness of the
government, said former minister Gangadhar Tuladhar
Claiming that all state mechanisms had been effectively deployed since PM himself took initiatives post-disaster, minister Basnet maintained
that the government was successful in reaching out and assisting the quake victims.PM himself taking a leadership in the rescue, relief
distribution and treatment of the quake victims has spread a positive message, said minister Jwala.Praising PM Dahal for his activeness
during the disaster, Minister for Health and Population Mohan Bahadur Basnet expressed his happiness for having a responsible and active PM
The whole state mechanism was mobilised during the disaster, said the Army Chief Sharma.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
