Kathmandu, MINA – Nepal’s response to the devastating Tibet border flood disaster has come under criticism from prominent civil society activists, who say excessive centralization has delayed relief, sidelined elected local governments and prevented assistance from reaching victims when it was needed most.
Quoted from Dhaka Tribune on Thursday, in a joint statement, 35 civil rights activists called for an overhaul of rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts following the August 26 ice-and-rock avalanche and subsequent flood.
The scale of the catastrophe continues to grow.
Citing an August 31 report by Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, the statement said around 900 bodies had been recovered, while about 10,000 people were injured or missing and more than 4,000 had been rescued.
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Despite around 21,000 security personnel being deployed along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, the activists said the federal government had failed to ensure a sufficiently coordinated response.
They alleged that centralization delayed the distribution of collected relief during the crucial first days of the disaster.
While praising the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force for their rescue efforts, the activists criticised the government’s “one-door system” for aid distribution as ineffective. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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