Quake-hit Sindhupalchowk getting new lease of life

Published On: April 25, 2018 02:52 PM NPT By: Dhruba Dangal

SINDHUPALCHOWK, April 25: Small and medium-size houses. Well-decorated settlements roofed in red, blue and green zinc-sheets equipped with motor roads and drinking water. Every house has a toilet and is illuminated.

Badly damaged by the mega earthquake of April 25, 2015, Sindhupalchok has now got a new lease of life, giving an impression of a town.

“ Sindhupalchowk has got a new lease of life thanks to reconstruction work over the period of three years,” Tanka Gautam, chief of Urban Development and Building Division Office, District Level Project Implementation Unit, Sindhupalchowk, told Republica Online. According to him the reconstruction work in Sindhupalchowk district has reached a final phase.

As many as 66,000 houses are under construction simultaneously in the district, said Unit Engineer Gautam.

However, the Unit lacks authentic data of houses built by the quake victims. Even the technical staffers of the Unit itself does not concur with this data. Around 60,000 houses are presumably under construction to according to them.

“A total of 62,000 earthquake victims have already received the second tranche of reconstruction grant,” shared Gautam, adding, “This means the same number of houses are being built as the victims can demand the second tranche of reconstruction grant only after the completion of ground floor construction.”

According to the technical staff, it takes around two months to release the second tranche of earthquake grant after fulfilling required processes.

“The exact number of completed houses is still unknown due to dearth of technical staffers as they are currently busy in inspection of house reconstruction,” clarified Gautam.

The reconstruction has gained momentum despite lack of skilled manpower, technical staffers, construction materials, inflation and black marketeering.

Of the total 79 VDCs, the reconstruction work has reached a final phase in most of the VDCs. The Unit presumes that around 150,000 staffers are currently working in the reconstruction work.

According to the Unit, there are 83,600 quake victims in the district.