As the sun begins to set in Jalbire, Sindhupalchok, an octogenarian couple enter their hut to keep themselves warm. But just as 80-year-old Dhana Bahadur Shrestha lights the fire, cold wind gushes in through a small hole in the tarpaulin sheet that covers the shelter. Dhana Bahadur is worried for his sick 79-year-old wife who can barely move. The bone-chilling cold in the hills has only added to the Shresthas’ woes who have been living alone ever since their two daughters left home after marriage. After the quake destroyed their house in April, they were not even able to rescue the food grains and clothes.

Over 3,500 people died in Sindhupalchok due to the twin earthquakes and over 67,300 houses were either damaged or destroyed. The tremor also destroyed 90 percent of the food stock and left some 28,655 people severely food insecure, according to the Ministry of Agricultural Development. Now, with the onset of winter, the inflow of patients at the District Hospital for cold-related illnesses has increased by 20 percent in comparison to the same period last year. Even so, many quake-affected are yet to even receive Rs 15,000 promised by the government to build temporary shelter. Meanwhile in Gorkha, the epicentre of the quake, many displaced people continue to live in shanties beneath the magnificent view of the mountains which only serve as a chilling reminder of the worsening

climatic conditions.

This depressing state of affairs is a result of the utter neglect of the government towards the quake-affected. To begin with, it is yet to even pass the Reconstruction Bill to pave way for rehabilitation even as today marks the 235th day since the 7.9 magnitude quake struck the country. Political parties, who briefly seemed to rise to the occasion and unite for writing the constitution, have now reverted back to their old ways. The plight of the quake-affected far from the corridors of power in Kathmandu seems to be least of the government’s concerns as the two largest parties in Parliament, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, continue to fight for control of the multi-billion dollar reconstruction project.

This shameful politics in the name of the quake victims must end. In the immediate, Parliament must pass the Reconstruction Bill, which was presented yesterday, at the earliest. The ruling parties and the opposition should both realise that any further delay will only erode the people’s trust in them. At the grassroots, the District Disaster Relief Committees must also hand out Rs 10,000 to the quake-affected for warm clothes at the earliest. In case of areas far from market centres and for old people like the Shrestha couple who cannot travel very far, the government in coordination with disaster-relief organisations should make provisions to transport the necessary materials to them. The quake-affected have suffered enough; it is high time the government put an end to it.