Technical workforce for post-quake reconstruction reluctant to work
Aug 20, 2020 under National 834
Tanahun, August 19
Thirteen technical human resources recruited for the District Project Implementation Unit (Grants Management and Local Infrastructure) Office have resigned.
With the project workforce quitting jobs one after another, project activities mainly, the rebuilding of private houses damaged by the 2015 earthquakes has been hampered. According to the office, many employees are reluctant to get back to work after the four-month lockdown against COVID-19 as it seems they fear they will contract the virus.
A total of 52 technicians were recruited on contract-basis for post-quake private housing reconstruction drive. Of them, only 33 had returned to work after the lockdown. Now, 13 employees have already resigned and six have informed that they will not be returning to duty and will be sending their resignations, said project chief Jay Prakash Gupta.
Due to lack of sufficient technical workforce, monitoring of house rebuilding procedures and payment of instalment of housing grants have been affected.
It is said most of the hired technical workforce were from the Tarai districts affected by coronavirus and they might be hesitant to stay in quarantine if they returned to duty.
The 2015 April earthquakes had completely damaged 14,395 houses inflicting partial damage to 1,568 houses in the district.
Moreover, Tanahun is also not free of the COVID-19 pandemic. The infection rate is increasing here and restrictive order has been issued.
A version of this article appears in e-paper on August 20, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.
