Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel has given the ministry officials homework for managing additional funds required to carry out rescue, relief and reconstruction works, reported RSS, the state-owned news agency.
The floods and landslides triggered by incessant rains from September 27 to 29 have caused massive loss of life and property.
At least 244 people have died acorss the country, with Kavre district suffering the highest number of casualties at 77. Additionally, 19 people have gone missing following the disastes and at least 179 have been injured.
The Government of Nepal on Friday, October 4, declared 41 local levels hit hard by the floods and landslides as the disaster crisis zones for three months. It has been decided to streamline rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the areas hit hardest by the disasters, said Minister for Communications and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung.
“The loss and damage will have an adverse impact on the economy just when it was on an improvement trajectory,” said Paudel. “While carrying out relief and reconstruction in an organised manner, it is also necessary to prepare the foundation for economic growth.”
Nepal’s agricultural sector was the hardest hit by rain-induced disasters the previous week, causing damage worth around Rs 6 billion, the preliminary details made public by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development on Tuesday, October 1, showed.
However, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport alone has estimated that it will cost between Rs 20 and Rs 25 billion to fully repair and reconstruct the roads and bridges damaged by recent disasters, according to RSS.
Over 17,000 individuals have been rescued from the affected areas so far.
Rishiram Tiwari, spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs, told RSS that financial aid for temporary housing will be distributed once local authorities provide detailed lists of survivors. Tiwari noted that food rations and other immediate relief have already been provided at the local level. The government has released Rs 200,000 in financial support to each of the families who lost their loved ones, with 160 families receiving this aid so far through the District Disaster Management Fund.
