Daily Times

KATHMANDU: Nearly two years since Nepal’s devastating earthquakes, millions of survivors languish in makeshift shelters as the government has failed to deliver billions of dollars pledged in aid for rebuilding, a human rights group said on Friday.

The comments from Human Rights Watch (HRW) came a day after Nepal sacked the head of its reconstruction agency and replaced him with his predecessor in a political game of musical chairs that is worsening the plight of quake survivors, critics say.

“It is disturbing that the government has dragged its heels on tending to urgent humanitarian needs of earthquake victims,” Brad Adams, New York-based HRW’s Asia director, said in a statement. “There is no excuse for this dithering, and the government should be held accountable for this negligence.”

Almost 9,000 people died and more than half a million homes were destroyed when the 7.8- and 7.3-magnitude earthquakes rocked the impoverished Himalayan nation in April and May 2015.

Almost two years on, many of the estimated 8 million people affected continue to live in tarpaulin and bamboo tents due to delays in the government disbursing funds for them to rebuild their homes.

Government officials blamed the delays on Sushil Gyawali, CEO of the National Reconstruction Authority, claiming he failed to coordinate relief work with government ministries and mobilise the personnel necessary for reconstruction work. Gyawali, a civil engineer appointed a year ago, denies the charges and is seeking legal action against the dismissal.