Process to integrate volunteers at national system commenced: DPM Shrestha

By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Jan 16: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha has said that the process of integrating disaster management volunteers into the national system has started. 

Addressing a program organized on the occasion of the National Earthquake Day at the Kathmandu Metropolitan City on Tuesday, the process of integrating volunteers has commenced saying that the role of the volunteers in disaster management is crucial. The government has already started the process. 

He said that 53 buildings consisting of schools, government buildings, hospitals and four roads are at high risk of earthquakes. 

A study conducted by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) with the aid of the government of Japan has shown that 53 buildings consisting of schools, government buildings, hospitals and four roads are at high risk of earthquakes and need to be reconstructed by prioritizing them. 

He said that Rs 1.63 billion is needed for the construction of 32 schools, Rs 387 million for building 13 health posts and Rs 518 million for building eight government buildings, and Rs 1.07 billion for constructing four roads. 

Home Minister Shrestha, said, “Kathmandu Valley is one of the highest risk areas in the world from the point of view of seismic risk. Of which, dense population and structures are high in the Kathmandu district. The earthquake of 1990 BS and 2015 hit the hardest in the Kathmandu district. This is the federal capital of the country as well. Therefore, we need to work collectively. The study also shows that 53 building structures and four roads in the Kathmandu district are at high risk of earthquake and need to be reconstructed on a priority basis. For that, federal, provincial and local bodies need to work in collaboration.”