Quake-hit Nepal awaits quick relief distribution as toll mounts to 6,254

3gzylon 2015-05-02

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By Zhang Ning, Zhou Shengping (Xinhua) 09:11, May 02, 2015

Photo taken on May 1, 2015 shows a damaged road in Rasuwa, Nepal. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma)

KATHMANDU, May 1 -- Earthquake-rattled Nepal is demanding more relief materials, as the death toll reached to 6, 254 on Friday.

Out of 29 "severely affected" districts, 13 have not yet received food supply and tents.

In worst-hit Gorkha region, areas including Barpak, Laprak, Baluwa and Muchchok have not received food aid and other relief items, local newspaper the Kathmandu Post reported.

Multiple landslides triggered by the quake have blocked the roads. Many villages in Sindhupalchok district lost road access after the highway collapsed.

Local authorities in 13 quake-hit districts estimated that some 600,000 tents are needed to construct temporary shelters.

In Dhading district, locals are demanding 50,000 tents for temporary shelters as a large number of houses collapsed due to the tremor.

"The government is trying its best to address post-quake problems but we are having a lot of troubles with the huge disparity between demand and supply," Rameshwor Dangal, chief of the Disaster Management Division at the Ministry of Home Affairs, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Government officials said 50,000 tents have been so far distributed by the authorities, among which 10,000 were provided by the Nepal Red Cross Society and 25,000 by the Ministry of Urban Development.

Lack of food has also emerged in many quake-hit areas, as road obstruction and landslide have prevented food supplies from reaching remote districts including Gorkha.

In many districts, recently harvested winter grains, including wheat and mustard, have been buried by the quake.

Following the earthquake, UNICEF has delivered 29 metric tons of humanitarian supplies to Nepal including tents, water purification tablets, first aid and hygiene kits to reach at least 1.7 million children living in areas hardest hit by the earthquake.

However, the message from the affected areas are clear for more aid in fast delivery speed.

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(Editor:Yao Xinyu,Bianji)