Twelve-year-old earthquake victim Meena Tamang of Dolakha in a tent near Bouddha in Kathmandu. Photo: Rajesh Gurung/THT
KATHMANDU: As many as 6,848 families have been shifted to safer locations in view of the risks posed by quake-weakened soil and crevasses as the monsoon downpour continues unabated in the country.
At least 19,041 families in 18 districts are at a high risk of post-quake disasters, but the government could only manage the resettlement of 6,848 families, said Home Ministry Spokesperson Laxmi Prasad Dhakal.
The government has adopted a policy of relocating the families that are facing an unprecedented risk of disasters in the aftermath of the massive 7.6-Richter scale earthquake followed by a series of power aftershocks.
“The problem surfaced after locals in some districts demanded transfer to an area with better facilities,” Dhakal said adding, “The government will shift the settlements to land properties which it has leased if the settlements cannot be shifted to public areas or areas without trees.”
The settlements are being shifted to safer locations as per the instruction of the Central Rehabilitation Implementation Facilitation and Monitoring Committee on basis of the report submitted by the Department of Mines and Geology to the Ministry after carrying out a geological study in 18 districts.
Reports of the recommendation committees formed under the coordination of the Constituent Assembly members elected from concerned constituencies have also been taken as a base for relocation of the settlements.
The settlements in Chitwan, Gorkha, Sindhupalchok, Okhaldhunga, Sindhuli, Lamjung, Tanahun, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Rasuwa, Kavrepalanchok, Makawanpur, Dolakha, Dhading, Solukhumbu, Nuwakot, Ramechap and Khotang have been shifted, the Ministry’s Under Secretary Pradeep Kumar Koirala said.
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