Nepal govt, international aid agencies blame each other over delay in help to victims
Handling of aid sparks row; Koirala visits affected areas, calls for separate ministry A fresh tremor of magnitude 4.0 on Tuesday at 6.39 am jolted Nepal
Kathmandu/ New Delhi, May 5: A row has broken out between Nepal and some international agencies over the handling of aid that poured into the country after April’s devastating earthquake, with each side blaming the other for confusion and delays in getting help to victims.
Relief efforts have been slow to reach many people affected by Nepal’s worst disaster in more than 80 years, leaving an unknown number of people stranded, injured and hungry for days.
The 7.8 magnitude quake, which struck 10 days ago, has killed 7,566 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
Relief material initially piled up at the airport as Nepalese customs officials checked each crate that came in so commercial goods did not slip through.
Senior government officials said customs checks were necessary, because they did not know what was coming into the country.
Supplies included goods that Nepal did not need and many relief workers arrived without proper documents to enter the country, complicating efforts to move the aid effort along, officials said.
“Many donors are sending relief materials without even consulting us about what we need,” said Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, a home ministry official.
Some rescue workers, for their part, said they were frustrated by what they saw as bureaucratic delays and lack of coordination by the government.
Meanwhile, Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Tuesday visited Barpak in Gorkha district, the epicentre of the deadly quake to take stock of the situation.
During the visit, he pointed out the need for formation of a separate ministry to deal with the aftermath of any natural disasters in the future.
“Tents and foodstuffs are in much demand here and the government is coordinating with neighbouring countries to deal with the post- quake situation,” Mr Koirala said.
Over 530 bodies of vic- tims of Nepal’s devastating earthquake have been cremated at the ghats of the Pashupatinath Temple here, an official said on Tuesday.
A fresh tremor of magnitude 4.0 on Tuesday jolted Nepal. The feeble tremor at “6.39 am, was epicentred on the border of Dhading and Nuwakot districts,” National Seismological Centre chief Lok Bijaya Adhikari told PTI.