Angry Nepal quake survivors loot relief convoys, blame slow aid efforts

Angry with the allegedly slow pace and inefficiency of the relief efforts in Nepal, survivors on Thursday reportedly began attacking and looting relief convoys in parts of the country. [caption id=“attachment_2222136” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Angry survivors in Nepal looted relief convoys. Reuters[/caption] As the relief trucks arrived in Sangachowk village, angry men, along with some children, captured three containers of tents and other items that were being transported by the Nepal army, according to The Times of India. The people attacking the convoy said that they were afraid that the relief material, which was meant for them, might instead go to “people with connections”. “We are hardworking, honest men…We are not robbers. But look at how we have been living. It has been almost a week after the earthquake and we are still out in the open. The children have been crying all day. They are cold and without milk. Ke garne ra, paristithi nai esto chha (What can we do, the situation called for it),” Som Bahadur Tamang, one of the people who said he tried to seize contents of one of the trucks, was quoted as saying. Earlier on Wednesday, in Sangachowk, one of the worst-hit districts, scores of angry villagers had blocked the road with tires. On Friday, Nepal police had also arrested dozens of people on suspicion of looting abandoned homes as well as causing panic by spreading rumours of another big quake. Police official Bigyan Raj Sharma had said 27 have been detained for stealing from homes whose owners moved out following Saturday’s quake and powerful aftershocks, according to Associated Press. Nepali villagers on Wednesday had blocked trucks carrying supplies for earthquake victims. In the capital Kathmandu, about 200 people had protested outside parliament, asking for more buses to go to their homes in remote parts of the Himalayan nation and to hasten the distribution of aid that has flooded into the country but been slow to reach those in need. Villagers had stopped two trucks headed for the district capital with rice, noodles and biscuits. Later, they blocked a convoy of three army trucks with relief supplies, leading to a tense standoff with armed soldiers, reported Reuters. People had also blocked traffic in Kathmandu to protest the slow pace of aid delivery. The protesters faced off with police and there were minor scuffles but no arrests were made. One protester had said they haven’t received any relief. Nepalese riot police had been deployed in Kathmandu to contain anger among the survivors. (With agency inputs)