As the country observed National Earthquake Safety Day on Saturday, quake survivors in the district were complaining that government authorities were apathetic towards addressing their concerns.

Thousands of quake-displaced families have been living in poorly-built huts for the past nine months. The cold weather, meanwhile, has added to their woes.

Shailunge Khatri, a quake survivor in Phulpingkatti-4, said his family is hit hard by the cold as tarpaulins in his shelter have started tearing up and dew drops seep through blankets at night. He said he does not even have warm clothes despite the fact that he is suffering from asthma.

Around 35 quake-affected households in Phulpingkatti as well as hundreds of others in Naranthan, Luksingh, Jhirpu, Panthali and Selangkatti are facing similar troubles.

Namaya Karki of Phulpingkatti said they were compelled to build huts using tarpaulin as the relief amount provided by the government was not sufficient to buy

galvanised zinc sheets.

“We feel as if the wind may blow us away anytime,” said Karki. Quake-hit people in northern VDCs bordering China have also been left in lurch due to increasing cold. Earthquake survivors in Phulpingkatti, Tatopani, Listi, Marmin and Gati said many locals in the areas are suffering from cold-related diseases. Lakpa Sherpa of Tatopani-1 said that people in the area lost their property as well as business to the earthquake. “We have no any source of income now,” he said.

Meanwhile, many senior citizens, children and women in Chagam, Ghipche and Kanglang have also fallen ill due to cold. Eighty-five-year-old Aaitimaya Tamang of Listi-5 said she is deprived of treatment due to shortage of medicines at local health post. She said people in the area have to go to Barhabise for medical care.

Warm clothes distributed in Gorkha village

Harihar Singh Rathaur

Zonta Club, a social organisation working for women, distributed warm clothes to over 1500 quake-affected families at Sirdibash and Kerauja in the district on Saturday.

The club provided blankets, sweaters, woollen caps, gloves and socks to 666 households at Sirdibash and 884 others at Kerauja. Pramila Acharya, chairperson of the club, said various donors, including Helping Hands, helped them distribute the clothes in quake-affected areas.

Local people, especially children, were very happy to receive the warm clothes in the area. Talking to the club representatives,

Jeevan Ghale of Kerauja said many quake survivors, particularly post-partum women and children, facing difficulties due to cold and lack of balanced diet.

Likewise, earthquake-hit people in Sirdibash complained that they were deprived of winter relief as the government did not distribute the amount in their village. Locals said they spent the whole winter with some clothes distributed by some organisations. Quake survivors in Ghyalchok, Mirkot, Deurali VDCs and Gorkha and Palungtar municipalities also said they were deprived of winter relief.

Local Development Officer Premraj Giri, however, said distribution of the winter relief has been delayed in Sirdibash due to insufficient funds. “We need an additional amount of Rs 300 million to distribute winter relief to all quake-hit households in the district,” he said.