Send quality relief packages to villages: PM Koirala

KATHMANDU, MAY 01 - Amidst sharp criticisms of the government for lack of effective distribution of relief packages and rescue operation of the earthquake victims, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has directed the concerned state mechanisms to send the good quality relief packages to the quake-hit villages.

PM Koirala issued such directive after inspecting the Cargo Complex and Terminal Building at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Friday. During his visit, he took stock of management system of and distribution of relief packages, PM’s press aide Prakash Adhikari said.

Recalling that there have been complaints in the past disasters that people from urban area used quality goods and send poor quality goods to villages, PM Koirala said, “Don’t harbor the feeling that village denizens don’t need quality goods. Let the relief packages reach where they are meant to be send.”  

The officials engaged in the distribution of relief packages told PM Koirala that they have only 11 trucks of such relief packages remaining and they are ready for sending them to the earthquake affected districts.

The officials told PM Koirala that items like tents that are needed the most at the moment have yet to arrive in sufficient quantity while some countries have sent the rods and tents in a mismanaged way that are not good for sending to the districts.

General Manager at TIA Birendra Kumar Shrestha informed that the air traffic have returned to normalcy from Thursday. But some foreign carriers bringing the relief packages have been occupying the airport space so that they could take their nationals back home. This has created congestion in the airport for other planes arriving with relief packages, he said.

Source: eKantipur