Purna Bahadur Rawat of Rawat village in Bheri Municipality-1, Jajarkot, has been living in a tin hut for the past two years after losing his house in the earthquake. His situation worsened after he lost his two sons. Now, he lives miserably in the cramped shelter, one room for all belongings, another for cooking and sleeping. While he has endured all seasons in this fragile structure, the monsoon brings new hardship. The roof has started leaking, and when the wind-driven rain hits, it becomes nearly impossible to sleep.
“Two years have passed waiting for the government to build a permanent house,” Rawat said. “We are still forced to live in a tin shack that scorches in the sun and leaks in the rain. I’m still grieving the loss of my son, who had just started eating solid food. We’re suffering without a decent place to live. Who will understand the pain of earthquake victims?”
Rawat’s temporary shelter was built by the Youth Awakening and Rehabilitation Center. However, the local government has yet to register him in the disaster portal, meaning he hasn’t received a detailed damage assessment (DDA). Like him, others not listed in the portal have also been excluded from receiving their DDA.
Similarly, Kalika Shah of Bheri Municipality-1 said an NGO called Sosek had helped build temporary housing immediately after the disaster. But now, as the government prepares to provide reconstruction grants, they’ve been left out due to the lack of a DDA.
This is the situation for many survivors of the 23 November 2023 earthquake, which killed 154 people and damaged over 70,000 private homes across Jajarkot, Rukum West, and Salyan. The government provided Rs 50,000 per family for temporary shelter. In the immediate aftermath, newly appointed leaders arrived, distributed relief, and promised swift reconstruction. But now, survivors are stuck in leaking tin huts and facing pressure from banks, as no permanent housing has been provided.
During the rainy season, many families stay awake all night in fear. “We live in constant dread when it rains. We don’t even know when we’ll receive the reconstruction grant,” said Gopal Lohar of Nalgad-1, Chiuri. As frustration grew after DDA results were published, earthquake victims locked their ward offices. Those still living in tents remain in disarray, particularly with the onset of the monsoon.
Seventeen months after the earthquake, the government has only recently begun DDA work in earnest. When the names of completed wards were published, residents of Wards 3, 4, and 12 of Nalgad Municipality locked their ward offices in protest, halting further activity. Locals are demanding that even damaged houses be eligible for reconstruction support—regardless of whether they lie within the district boundaries.
Badri Bahadur Pant, ward chair of Nalgad-4, said that everyone who received the Rs 50,000 for temporary shelter should be included in the reconstruction program. Although the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) had announced the start of reconstruction in July, delays persist due to procedural confusion and local-level indifference.
In Nalgad-3, a total of 654 households were listed as beneficiaries, with 475 eligible for reconstruction—of which 440 are under construction and 35 under general maintenance or reinforcement. However, 179 houses identified for reconstruction are still not on the official list. Ward Secretary Uttam Chand said that when agreements for reconstruction began, people left off the list locked the ward office. Administrative work has since been disrupted, delaying the reconstruction further.
In Nalgad-4, of 436 assessed households, only 311 were certified for reconstruction. The remaining 141 have been left out. This pattern is repeated across the district. Nearly all mud-brick homes were damaged and remain unsafe. Yet, many residents continue to live in them, holding onto the hope of eventual reconstruction support.
“The padlocks are a cry for justice,” said Dhan Bahadur Rawal of Nalgad-4, whose name was not included in the DDA list. Officials claim that homes without visible damage or those owned elsewhere are excluded in accordance with the 2024 Reconstruction Procedure. But Rawal and others argue that the DDA list is arbitrary and discriminatory.
Ganesh Sharma of Nalgad-4 warned that if the ward office does not revise its list, the municipality office will also face padlocks. CPN (Maoist Center) leader Ramdeep Acharya said that laws causing harm to victims must be amended. “It’s not possible to reinforce homes made of stone and clay. These homes must be fully rebuilt,” he said. “It’s the state’s responsibility to ensure no citizen suffers from unjust exclusions.”
Nepali Congress leader Chhabi Panta added, “Our voices on the earthquake issue have been repeatedly ignored. There's widespread anger. If officials think mud-and-stone homes are safe, then let them live in these cracked houses.”
CPN-UML leader Niraj Acharya echoed similar concerns, calling for a reconsideration of the DDA conducted nearly 18 months after the earthquake. “Mud and stone homes should be rebuilt. Those left out must be included,” he said. “The state must listen to the victims.”
The risks of inaction are becoming deadly. In Tarpena, Kushe Rural Municipality-3, two sisters, Chandra Budha, 14, and Sharmila Budha, 16, were killed when a large stone fell from a damaged roof and collapsed their house. Last year, over a dozen people died in landslides during the rains. Today, dozens of settlements remain at high risk.
Geologists have warned that more than two dozen settlements in Jajarkot are vulnerable to collapse and must be relocated. The local administration has issued alerts across Barekot, Nalgad, Bheri, and Shivalaya municipalities.
The establishment of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project Implementation Unit Office in Rimna, Jajarkot, had raised hopes. During its inauguration, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak promised there would be “no more delays” in reconstruction. “Whatever has happened until now, there will be no delay moving forward,” he said.
Mayor of Nalgad Municipality Dambar Bahadur Rawat acknowledged the urgency: “Victims are suffering in tin huts. In some wards, reconstruction has stalled due to local protests and office lockdowns.”
Jajarkot’s Chief District Officer Mekh Bahadur Magranti said the delays stem from verification steps following DDA completion. “Some beneficiaries were verified just recently, and their lists have reached local authorities. However, confusion around formal beneficiary recognition is holding things up,” he said. Reconstruction will begin once municipalities complete these steps.
The government has committed to providing Rs 400,000 per household for rebuilding, Rs 250,000 for reinforcement, and Rs 100,000 for general repairs. Technicians are being mobilized to complete DDA verification in the affected districts. So far, around 22,000 beneficiaries in Doti, Bajhang, Bajura, Salyan, Rukum West, and Jajarkot have been verified.
