Nepalgunja, 9400 badi pidit le rahat paune. More than 9,400 flood victims of Bardiya are yet to receive relief materials though it has been 10 days since their dwellings were swept away. The victims are in an urgent need of food stuff, shelter and medicines but neither the government nor the donor agencies have come to their rescue and they have been living on the mercy of their neighbours or relatives. Bardiya chapter of the Nepal Red Cross Society revealed that relief materials could not be provided to a large number of victims, as not enough stuff was made available to NRCS-Bardiya. NRCS statistics show that two municipalities comprising 21 VDCs were the worst-hit, with 80,860 persons from 14,535 families having been displaced. As many as 71,384 of them have been sheltering in 43 camps, but the remaining 9,476 victims are yet to receive anything in the name of flood relief. NRCS-Bardiya Chief Govinda Paudel said, “We have been demanding items of daily basic needs — food, drinking water, medicines, transportation — for 10,000 victims from the donor agencies, but in vain.” Red Cross sources said they had already distributed 33,604 kg rice, 2,241 kg pulses, 1,082 kg salt, 547 litres of cooking oil, 4,100 tent sets, 300 blankets, 300 mosquito nets, 2,400 buckets and 200 bed covers among the victims. But this is not enough to meet the needs of all the flood victims, as 1,66,505 persons from 28,652 families have been affected by the floods in the district. Those who are yet to receive relief are living by eating once a day and that too is provided either by their relatives or friends. Narendra Chaudhary of Bagnaha VDC, the worst-hit VDC in the district, said, “I have lost everything but have got nothing — clothes, food grains or medicines — in the name of relief.” Bardiya CDO Tej Prasad Paudel claimed that the number of flood victims was high and admitted that some of the affected areas had been eluded of relief, as they were left with nothing to spare for them. “We have asked the donor agencies for more relief materials,” he told THT. DAMODAR BHANDARI