THE other day Nepal marked the fifth memorial day of the great Gorkha earthquake that hit the country on April 25, 2015, killing over 9,000 people. We are recalling the day of national tragedy at a time when the entire nation is now forced to recoil in fear of the coronavirus pandemic that is devastating the people across the globe. It seems Nepalis have been destined to suffer blow one after another. But the earthquake is not just the nature-induced calamity, it is also the test of people to cope with existential crisis and ability to better survive with community. Though no one wants to reminisce the dark moments of death and destruction five year ago, it is imperative for us to assess the earthquake’s impacts and achievements made in the reconstruction of structures destroyed by it.
The nation has entered the fifth week of the nationwide lockdown imposed to prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now all efforts have been channelled to fight the looming pandemic. As the lockdown has severely affected the people’s mobility and economic activities, reconstruction of important buildings and monuments has also come to a halt. Naturally, this abnormal situation will have negative consequences for the rehabilitation tasks. The time and costs of reconstruction works are likely to go up. As the workers have been sent to confinement to avoid the infection of contagion, construction of the historic Dharhara and Ranipokhari has also been postponed. The government was planning to inaugurate the Ranipokhari, including the Balgopaleshwor temple inside it, on the very Memorial Day (Friday) following the completion of all related works.
COVID-19 is sure to push back the deadlines of construction of many iconic sites and structures. However, this negative development can hardly overshadow the significant gains in the post-quake reconstruction works. The disaster has taught the government and concerned agencies to build the quake-resilient buildings across the country. The National Reconstruction Authority has successfully led the campaign with the slogan ‘Better than before, and stronger’. More than half-a-million private houses have been built with additional 190,000 houses under construction. Nine integrated settlement construction projects have been finished. Likewise, 5,598 school buildings, 669 health-service buildings, 101 cultural and archaeological structures, and 349 government buildings have been built. Over 4,000 people have been shifted to secure settlement while 9,000 landless people get land to build their own houses.
The reconstruction of such large number of structures is no mean feat given the fiscal constraint and difficult geography where earthquake mostly claimed the lives of people and damaged the houses. Even the donors have hailed the reconstruction works completed within a short span of time. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, in his message delivered on the occasion, said that the concept and methodology of reconstruction and rehabilitation is of world class and can be adopted as model around the world. The success in the reconstruction works is largely owing to the support from all sides, including the local community, donors and relevant government agencies. The people had demonstrated indomitable will and resolve when the killing quake had shaken them to the core. Now they have to again show similar fighting spirit and confidence to defeat the pandemic as well as give momentum to the deferred reconstruction works.