Seventeen local governments in Siraha have spent more than Rs 20 million on mask distribution programmes alone. However, on-site monitoring reveals that a single mask was provided to a family of 10.
Surendra Kumar Kamati: Center for Investigative Journalism-Nepal
An employee of Ward-6, Siraha Municipality distributing masks.
On April 2, the ward office distributed two masks–one for five Dom families of Siraha Municipality Ward No.19 Sanhaitha, Uttarwari neighbourhood, and the other for 15 families of Dakshinwari neighbourhood. The total population of the 20 families in these two neighbourhoods is 110. But, by distributing just two masks to such a large group of people, the ward office said that it stands with the local people in the fight against Covid-19.
The family of Badri Mallik of Uttarwari neighbourhood has 10 members. On April 4, the ward office gave him a single mask and a bar of hand-washing soap. “A single mask for a family of 10! I didn’t know what to do,” Badri said, “As the ward office asked us to wear the mask only when going to the market, my wife and I take turns wearing the same mask.”
Ward staffers also gave a single mask and a bar of hand washing soap to Pramila Devi of Uttarwari. Five masks were given to 33 members of five families in that neighbourhood. The ward office distributed one mask and a bar of soap to each family in Dom Basti of Dakshinwari neighbourhood on April 5. Prabhu Mallik (Dom) said that a single mask was given to his family of 12. Chairman of Ward No.19 Gopal Yadav said that a single mask and a bar of hand-washing soap were distributed to each household as the masks were expensive. Yadav said, “Ward No.19 has spent Rs. 576,000 on masks and soap since the lockdown began on March 24.”
Chairman of Siraha Municipality Ward No.7 Upendra Sah gave two masks to the family of local Ganga Paswan in early April. According to Sah, two masks have been distributed to each family in the ward.
Ward No.7 has a population of 4,345. According to Ward Chairman Sah, Rs. 245,000 has been spent from the government fund to distribute 5,000 masks, 8,000 soap bars and 1,000 bottles of sanitiser. “Initially, two masks were distributed per family and then we added more later,” he said.
Ward Chairman of Bariyarpatti Rural Municipality-4, Siraha, Navin Yadav distributed two masks and a hand-washing soap bar each to 960 households from the ward on April 9. Ward chief Yadav said, “Initially, two or three sewn cloth masks were distributed to each family and three more were distributed later.”
The work done by these three local governments in Siraha in distributing masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19 has squandered government money. Ram Kishore Yadav, a civic leader from Siraha, said, “The indiscriminate distribution of masks neither helped control the spread of Covid-19, nor justified the government’s expenditure on the masks.”
The ward office gave just five masks to the family of 10 of Ram Sogarath Paswan of Siraha Municipality-6. A team led by Ward Chairman Vijay Kumar Yadav visited Paswan’s house on March 25 and handed over five cloth masks and a bar of soap. However, Paswan was surprised. Paswan said, “There are 10 people in the family, big and small. The ward office gave a mask that only five adults can wear. It would have been better if they had not given it at all. ”
Sushil Paswan and Jogi Paswan of Siraha Municipality Ward No.6 also have a family of 15. However, the ward gave them five masks and one bar of soap per family. Paswan said, “As the masks were not enough, I use my gamchha and my wife covers her face with her sari.”
the masks distributed by Siraha Mirchaiya Municipality-2 to its residents.
According to the 2011 census, Siraha Municipality Ward No.6 has a population of 3,845. The ward office has bought and distributed masks worth Rs. 360,000 since the beginning of the crisis. However, not everyone in the ward has received a mask. But, ward chairman Vijay Kumar Yadav claimed that masks have been distributed to ward residents time and time again. Yadav said, “We bought an additional 12,000 masks and distributed them. That too cost us Rs 30 each. ”
Ward No.18 of Siraha Municipality distributed three masks to each family from April 8. According to Ward Chairman Ram Sogarath Yadav, one mask and a bar of Lifebuoy soap were also distributed to those found on the road. He said, “Initially, three masks were given to each family. But later it was also given to those who came to the market.” The ward office said it spent Rs 108,000 on masks, soaps and sanitizers since the second week of March.
In Siraha Municipality-4, Ramaul, ward staffers and people’s representatives visited the villages from April 4-7 and distributed two masks and a bar of soap to each household. Ward Chairman Mohammad Izaharul Haque said two to five masks were distributed per household. “We have given sanitier to some people only, but I have provided up to five masks to each household,” said Haque. He added, “Because there is a scarcity in the market and masks are expensive, it can’t be given to everyone.”
Mukesh Yadav of Siraha Municipality Ward No.13 said that the ward gave only one mask to his family. Yadav said, “The ward office staff gave us only one mask. There are seven people in the house, who will wear it and who will not wear it? ”
Ward No. 3 of Bariyarpatti Rural Municipality, Siraha, gave sewn cloth masks to 50 families of the Musahar community near the customs office on March 31. According to the locals, the daily wage earning Musahar families were given low-quality masks. Volta Sada, a local resident, said, “They came home and gave me two- three masks. There are 15 of us. What should we do with these masks?”
Surprisingly, the people’s representatives and employees of Bariyarpatti Rural Municipality, who distributed cloth masks to the Musahar community, are using expensive N-95 masks. The rural municipality distributed 3,900 masks with a market value of Rs 10 each to the people, but provided N-95 masks with a market value of Rs 650 each to its employees and the people’s representatives.
A report by Ashok Kumar Singh, chief administrative officer of Bariyarpatti Rural Municipality, said that since mid-March 3,900 cloth masks, 500 surgical masks and 100 N-95 masks were bought by the office. A total of Rs 864,000 was spent on the masks alone.
Employees and people’s representatives of another Rural Municipality in Siraha also distributed ordinary cloth masks to the common people. Even there, the people’s representatives and employees wore more expensive ‘N-95’ masks. Ram Kishore Yadav, a civic leader from Siraha, said, “They [the people’s representative] should have distributed good-quality masks to the people, but instead of doing that they got themselves good quality masks and gave away sub-standard ones to the people.”
Similar situation in province
It’s not only the local governments, provincial authorities have also shown interest in distributing masks. Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning of Province 2, Vijay Kumar Yadav, distributed masks and soap bars in Siraha from the budget of the State Assembly Member Constituency Development Fund.
The Dom family in Siraha Municiplaity-19’s Sanhaitha Uttarbasi Tol.
According to Rajesh Lal Karna, chief of the Infrastructure Development Office, Siraha, Minister Yadav has distributed masks and soap worth Rs 950,000 in his constituency. According to Karna, since May 23, a total of 100,000 masks and 1,382 bars of Godrej soap and 6,480 bars of Lifebuoy soap have been distributed in two wards of Sukhipur and Arna municipalities and five each of Bariyarpatti, Orahi and Nawarajpur Rural Municipalities.
Minister Yadav formed a consumer committee to buy masks and soap, but handed over the responsibility to distribute them to cadres of his Janata Samajwadi Party. He also distributed five sets of masks and one bar of soap to a house with a family of more than 10 members. Nawal Yadav of Orahi Rural Municipality-5 said, “Sub-standard masks were distributed using money from the Parliamentary Development Fund. But even then, not everyone received a mask.”
According to Dilip Sada, a doctor working in District Hospital Siraha, normal masks distributed by the locals of Siraha can’t be used repeatedly. However, people are using the same mask over and over again. Dr Sada said, “Looking at the haphazard procurement and distribution of masks, the investment made by local governments of Siraha on masks has been in vain.”
Raising awareness about maintaining social distance and washing hands regularly with soap and water would have been more effective than distributing a single mask for the whole family, said Dr Sada. “But the local governments of Siraha seemed to be lost in useless work for cheap popularity.”
According to the expenditure report submitted by the local governments in Siraha to the District Administration Office, 17 civic bodies, including their 164 wards, spent Rs 20 million just on masks. Seven civic bodies spent Rs 15.1 million on “Covid-19 Prevention and Control.”
