Home Minister Janardan Sharma said on Tuesday that the government has been working to take the relief to the flooded and crisis-hit areas of Tarai at the earliest.

Talking to Kantipur after inspecting the relief supplies to be transported to the flood-affected regions, Minister Sharma said the government has accorded high priority to Rautahat, Saptari, and Sarlahi districts that are hit hard by the floods. He said that the government has been dispatching tarpaulin, beaten-rice, water, roasted rice and noodles, among other dry foods, to the flood affected regions. From now on, other food items such as rice and lentils would be sent, he added.

Minister Sharma said the relief items would be dispatched by roads in the possible places and by air in areas that not accessible by roads. He said that three helicopters each have been deployed by bases in Janakpur, Rautahat, and Parsa, while two each helicopters are being deployed from Kathmandu and Biratnagar.  He informed that separate commands of Home Ministry, chief district officer and regional administrators have been appointed in order to make the relief distribution effective.

Earlier in the day, Home Minister Sharma reached the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu, to inspect the supply of relief to the flood-affect regions. 

Minister Sharma went to the airport for inspection at 10:30 am this morning following widespread complaints that there was disparity in distribution of relief items in the flood affected districts, said Minister Sharma’s secretariat.

Secretary at Home Ministry Lokdarshan Regmi, Spokesperson at Home Ministry and Peace and Chief of Peace and Security Division Secretary Ram Krishna Subedi, Disaster Management Division Chief joint secretary Krishna Raut, Nepal Police Chief Prakash Aryal, Armed Police Force Chief Singha Bahadur Shrestha, representatives of Nepal Army Air Service wing, and representatives of private airlines companies, among others, were present during the visit of Minister Sharma.

Home Minister Sharma had visited the flood affected regions and met the locals on Sunday and Monday.