KATHMANDU, Dec 29: Minister for Home Affairs Bal Krishna Khand has stressed the need for raising awareness on earthquake safety every day rather than raising them for just one day.

At the meeting of the 24th National Earthquake Safety Day Main organizing Committee at the Ministry of Home Affairs today, Minister Khand asserted that it was the responsibility of all to protect the lives of citizens from natural disasters.

Khand said, "Nepal is ranked at the 11th position in terms of global risk for earthquakes. The earlier Gorkha Earthquake incurred a huge loss of lives and properties. It has alerted everyone. The post-quake reconstruction process is still ongoing."

The 24th National Earthquake Day will be observed on January 16, 2022, at Patan Durbar Square, Lalitpur. The government has been observing the National Earthquake Safety Day on the 2nd day of the Nepali month of Magh every year in memory of the 1934 earthquake to spread awareness about earthquake safety methods.

Minister Khand pressed for compliance with the construction-related code of conduct introduced to minimize the damages by the quake. "The National Earthquake Safety Day should not be limited to formality," he said. "Instead," Minister Khand added, "every citizen should be taught to save themselves during an earthquake."

Today's meeting urged the civil society, United Nations agencies and non-government agencies, and communities to observe the Day in a grand manner.

During the meeting, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority's Executive Director Anil Pokharel briefed on the proposed and already approved programs to be organized on the National Earthquake Safety Day.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City will organize a memorial assembly at Bhugol Park in New Road, Kathmandu on the same day.

The slogan for the 24th National Earthquake Safety Day is- 'Earthquake Safety in Multiple Disasters, Protection of Life and Property while Working Together.'

 
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