GORKHA, JUN 03 - Prices of zinc roofing sheets have not only risen sharply, they are in short supply, compounding the hardships of people made homeless by the earthquake as the monsoon is fast approaching. Crowds of earthquake victims can be seen daily scouring the market for roofing sheets to make temporary houses as they are worried with the rainy season about to start. However, they have to return empty-handed as there is a shortage of zinc sheets in the district headquarters and surrounding markets, said traders. Prices of zinc sheets have jumped Rs750 per bundle. Bishnu Gurung, a resident of Ghairung, searched the whole day for zinc sheets but without success. “I visited almost 10 hardware shops on Monday, but not a single zinc sheet was available in the market,” he said. The District Natural Disaster Rescue and Relief Committee has started distributing Rs15,000 to each quake-affected family to build temporary shelters. However, people are unable to get zinc sheets. Saroj Pokhrel, who operates a Hulas Steels depot in the district, said that more than 50 people had been coming daily to buy zinc sheets after the government started providing relief funds. “As we have run out of zinc sheets, we have been forced to pull down the shutters.” There are two depots of Hulas Steels at the district headquarters. Meanwhile people have been going to other areas in search of roofing sheets. “As I did not get zinc sheets in Gorkha , I went to Khaireni,” said Laxmi Kumal, a local of Chhopra in Gorkha . “But I had to return empty-handed from there too.” Another local, Kul Bahadur Baram, spent 10 days trying to buy a bundle of zinc sheets. The money the government has issued as relief is not sufficient to build a house, he said. Similarly, Pur Bahadur Shrestha of Fujel has been to a number of surrounding districts to buy zinc sheets but had no luck. Rajesh and Aarati Stores, the authorized dealers of zinc sheets in Abu Khaireni, said not a single zinc sheet was available at their depots. Krishna Gandrang, the proprietor of Rajesh Ko Dealer in Abu Khaireni, said he had closed his shop as he had run out of stock. “Large crowds have been coming looking for zinc sheets,” he said, adding that more than 100 customers were arriving daily. Similarly, Ishwor Kaji Maskey, the proprietor of a Hulas Steels depot, said demand for zinc sheets had swelled to 10,000 bundles, but the company had been sending only 350 bundles weekly. He added that each organization had been asking for 300 bundles. Sources said that manufacturers of zinc sheets had started dispatching their products to earthquake affected districts on a rotating basis. Prices have gone up by Rs220-750 per bundle after the earthquake. Before the disaster, prices had dropped by Rs120 per bundle. Hulas Steels was the first to jack up prices and other manufacturers followed soon after. Tika Dutta Dhakal, a farmer of Harmi, said he had planned to resume work on his farm after constructing a temporary house, but he had been forced to make frequent visits to the market in search of zinc sheets. Around 58,000 houses were destroyed by the earthquake. Since at least two bundles of zinc sheets are required for each house, the district needs 116,000 bundles. Around 3,000 households have received Rs15,000 each from the government as immediate relief to build shelters.