KATHMANDU:- Home Minister Sudhan Gurung has argued that some laws were still barriers to disaster management.
In a meeting of the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee under the House of Representatives today, Home Minister Gurung mentioned that the acts were obstructing the purchase of equipment required for disaster management.
Though there is availability of modern and advanced equipment in the global market to rescue the citizens facing difficulties, the procurement process could not be forwarded during the monsoon owing to legal hurdles, according to him.
“Drones with capacity of lifting around 200-kg weight are available nowadays. But it takes more than 45 days to purchase this essential and feasible equipment because of the Public Procurement Act. Once the procurement process completes, the entire monsoon is over,” Home Minister Gurung explained.
Recalling that he has been involved in citizens’ service during disasters for a decade, Home Minister Gurung mentioned that relief was distributed in Sindhupalchowk and Kavrepalanchowk districts using a high-capacity drone for the first time.
He further informed that people residing along riverbanks in the Kathmandu Valley have been relocated to safer places and preparation was underway to acquire information on the status of the people kept at holding centres after relocation. RSS
