Lacking in equipment and expertise for demolishing buildings that are over three-storey high which have been damaged by earthquake, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) had sought technical support from India, China, Japan and the United States of America.
'But those countries are yet to respond to our request,' said Tara Prasad Pokharel, spokesperson at MoFA.
Government assessment teams have found that over 2,000 buildings in the Valley that are over three-storey high have been rendered so unsafe by the recent earthquake and aftershocks that they need to be torn down immediately.
Kathmandu Chief District Officer Ek Narayan Aryal, who is also chief of the district disaster relief committee, informed that the district alone has 1,550 such high-risk buildings.
"But we have not been able to do anything about such risky structures although there is danger of further accidents if we leave them in their present precarious state," said he. The government should immediately furnish the local authorities with whatever is needed to pull down structures that are posing a risk to other buildings in the vicinity.
Spokesperson Pokharel said that the government is following up with the four countries on its request for support as soon as possible. "Some of the countries have assured us that they would provide the technical support. But they are yet to confirm this," said Pokharel. He did not name the specific countries.
Sophisticated equipment, concrete cutters and explosives are required for demolishing buildings that are more than three-storey high. And they need to be demolished in a controlled fashion so as not to cause any damage to neighboring buildings. This can only be done by specially trained manpower, according to government officials.
Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT), said that the government has also initiated the process for procuring the high-capacity equipment required for the demolitions while also continuing to seek support from the international community. "We need high-capacity cranes, excavators, loaders and concrete cutters," he added.
Officials at MoPIT said the government plans to train its own technicians under the specialists who come to demolish buildings in the Valley, and to carry out demolitions of such buildings outside the Valley on its own.
Currently, the government is demolishing buildings in the Valley that are up to three-storey high through the Nepal Police, Nepal Army and the Armed Police Force. As of now, 136 such structures have been pulled down in Kathmandu district alone.
Related story
I am ready to take the helm of govt if NC, UML lend support: Da...
