National Disaster Management Monitoring and Instruction Special Committee today decided to mobilise a parliamentary group to the 14 badly affected districts by the devastating earthquake of April 25.
Instruction Special Committee – formed by the parliament – during its first meeting has decided to deploy a four-member group to Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha, Ramechap, Sindhuli, Makawanpur, Gorkha, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Dhading, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Lamjung and Kavrepalanchowk.
The government had declared emergency in these 14 districts after the devastating tremor. The inspection tour will start on May 15 and completes on June 29.
The committee has also decided to start a direct help line and email for receiving complaints from earthquake victims in the badly affected districts.
The lawmakers would ask for factual details, if relief materials arriving for the victims had reached them or not, Constituent Assembly (CA) chairman Subas Nembang, who chaired the committee meeting, said, adding that the meeting has also instructed to all the parliamentary parties in the house to mobilise lawmakers of the unaffected areas to the affected areas.
The parliamentarians are expected to contribute to rehabilitation and reconstruction works.
Another group of lawmakers that includes employees of the Parliamentary Secretariat – in coordination of the government – will look after relief and rescue work. They will come up with the assessment report within five days.
During the meeting, Nepali Congress vice president and committee’s member Ram Chandra Poudel appealed for a better settlement of the earthquake victims as the monsoon season is nearing. “Streamlining the management of running the schools and health posts in the post earthquake scenario is crucial,” he said, adding that a separate group with technicians must be sent to collect the data as soon as possible.
CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, on the occasion, stressed the need to form National Crisis Management Council to help mitigate the danger.
Similarly, UCPN-Maoist general secretary Krishna Bahadur Mahara underscored the need to draw out necessary instruction and carrying out the monitoring work.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal chairman Kamal Thapa said the government must form a working plan within the next five days to help monitor the rescue and relief works.