The selection of members for the Disaster Management Committee to distribute relief aid in Katuwal Gaun-13 in Kirtipur today resulted in a clash among locals, in which one person was injured. The injured has been identified as Sujendra Thapa. A dispute flared up immediately after the committee was formed as locals accused each other of bias and groupism. Thapa was beaten black and blue by Prabindra Katuwal, Sobindra Katuwal, and Sachendra Pandey. Thapa has received injuries on the back of his head, forehead, and eyes. Prabindra Katuwal is a member of the Environment Protection Agitation Committee, Jalbinayak. Sobindra Katuwal and Sachendra Pandey are locals of Jalbinayak. Thapa, a resident of ward no 13, is a quake victim. He lost his three-story mud and stone house, situated on the border of ward no 13 and 14, to the quake.

According to Prasun Thapa, a local witness, Sujendra had reached the meeting at 8 am as he was busy managing the rubble of his shattered house. Locals were not satisfied with members of the Environment Protection Agitation Committee who came to form the disaster management committee as the authorities were trying to impose their decision without addressing the real victims. “I was only requesting the members to include the victims in the committee to make the distribution process transparent. But they accused me of trying to go against the decision and started beating me,” Thapa said. The accused were arrested by police. We are investigating, said Metropolitan Police Circle, Kirtipur.

According to Panchalal Maharjan, president of Environment Protection Agitation Committee, EPAC had decided to form a disaster management committee in ward no 13, 14, 15 of Kirtipur Municipality and ward no 4 of Karyabinayak Municipality to distribute relief to the victims of the devastating quake of April 25 and subsequent aftershocks. Each ward was to get Rs 1 million provided by Deepak Malotra, who has got the contract to collect scrap of Himal Cement Factory which was shut in 2002. Malotra gave Rs 17.5 million to EPAC on Saturday. EPAC then decided to use the amount for relief to quake victims. EPAC yesterday decided to give each ward Rs 1 million. To make the relief distribution effective and transparent, EPAC had decided to form a committee.