AMN
Nepal, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has said that a separate ministry to manage natural disasters will be formed. He visited Barpak in Gorkha district, the epicentre of the deadly earthquake to take stock of the situation. He has said that the government plans to construct earthquake resistant buildings while reconstructing demolished and damaged houses. He has said that the parliament meeting on Thursday would chalk out a future course of action to tackle the situation.
Meanwhile the death toll caused by the April 25 earthquake and aftershocks has climbed to 7,557. As per the update from the Nepalese government the number of people getting injuries has reached 14,536. Official sources have said that as per preliminary reports about 11 thousand government buildings were destroyed and above 14 thousand 700 got partial damages. Similarly about 2 lakhs houses belonging to the people turned into debris and above one lakh 75 thousand are partially damaged. Based on 2011 census recording 5.4 million houses across the country, the damage constitutes 7.15 percent.
Experts have said only a month is left to begin the monsoon season and there is great challenge before the Nepalese government to provide relief to victims and settle homeless people within month in view of Monsoon menace. Once the monsoon begins, the government and other agencies will be simply unable to send any relief to the poor villagers in the remote parts of the country where the quake has hit the hardest. Since the monsoon is likely to begin within a month, the government has no time and no option but to accelerate relief distribution at the maximum possible speed.
They said that it should be insured that every family must get relief materials such as tents, mats and blankets for temporary shelter, clothes, utensils and minimum amount of food for the next three or four months. During the monsoon period in the rural areas as landslides will most probably block rural roads, hindering transportation of food and goods. The quake has loosened the soil, and it is possible that there will be more landslides this year than in the previous years.
Meanwhile, seven persons were seriously injured when a bus met an accident at Gorkha. The bus carrying relief materials had fell down from the road. All seven injured have been admitted at Gorkha hospital. Nepal Armed Police Force rescuers today retrieved around 2 crore 50 lakhs rupees from the debris of Bank of Kathmandu’s office building in Balaju Industrial Area. The bank office was collapsed in the April 25 earthquake.