The earthquake victims from Kumpur VDC in Dhading picketed the District Administration Office on Wednesday demanding winter relief.

Around 1, 000 people gathered outside the DAO building and chanted slogans against the local administration. They claimed that around 2,500 quake-affected households have not received winter relief till date.  

Officials at the District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) said Forum for Awareness and Youth Activity, Nepal (FAYA-Nepal), a social organisation, was supposed to distribute winter relief in Kumpur and Salyankot VDCs.  

The quake victims from these VDCs, however, said they did not receive the winter relief because the FAYA-Nepal representatives    tried to distribute coupons for

Rs 2,000 each. The government had announced to

distribute Rs 10,000 each as winter relief.

Chief District Officer Bishwo Prakash Subedi said he was unaware about this.

“We were informed that the organisation had provided coupons of Rs 10,000 each in Kumpur,” said Subedi.

According to him, the DDMC had issued permission to Catholic Relief Services (CRS), FAYA-Nepal and Red Cross, among other organisations, to distribute winter relief in Dhola, Maidi, Kumpur, Khari, Salyankot and Khalte VDCs.

Local UCPN (Maoist) leader Ram Bahadur Bhandari said some of the organisations had only distributed relief worth Rs 6,000. “The local authorities should take action against such organisations,” he demanded.

Ram Nath Adhikari, a local Nepali Congress leader, said the social organisations involved in relief works distributed winter relief according to their whim.

“Earthquake-affected households in some VDCs have already received Rs 53,000 as relief. Elsewhere, the victims have only received Rs 15, 000,” he said.