KATHMANDU: The CPN-UML has decided to seek the formation of a special parliamentary committee to monitor rescue and relief operations on the ground and facilitate necessary coordination with the government.
A meeting of the UML Parliamentary Party held at Singha Durbar on Tuesday decided that the parliamentary party leader would address the House of Representatives when its meeting resumes on Wednesday and call for the formation of the special committee.
UML Chief Whip Ain Mahar said the parliamentary party also decided that each UML lawmaker would contribute 15 days of their salary to the disaster relief fund.
The meeting paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the floods and landslides and wished those injured a speedy recovery. It also called for intensified efforts to locate people who remain missing.
Mahar criticised the government’s response to the disaster, saying delays in rescue operations had resulted in avoidable loss of lives.
He cited cases in which more than 22 bodies were reportedly recovered from a single house and some bodies were found five to seven days after the disaster, arguing that these incidents reflected weaknesses in the government’s response mechanisms.
Mahar also said it was inappropriate for bodies reportedly still stranded in tunnels and other locations to remain unattended or to be buried collectively without being handed over to their families.
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