It’s been a year since we faced the worst calamity in living memory. The past year after the April 25 quake was indeed the most dreadful and difficult year we ever experienced. In the immediate aftermath, in makeshift tents, it still haunts us. Those were the precarious days.
Things could not go back to normal for two to three months following the quake, since the aftershocks continued for an unexpectedly long period. Every time we felt danger was imminent, for we were psychologically weak and disturbed. With the reduction in frequency and magnitude of aftershocks, things started improving gradually. We tried to forget everything and thought, 'we have to rebuild our lives.'
We were over the moon when we learnt that the international donors pledged the financial support of US$4.1 billion for the reconstruction of the earthquake-ravaged structures and rehabilitation of the victims in the donor conference organised by the government in Kathmandu last June. Like all the earthquake victims we became optimistic from the government move and the international response. The major political parties who were squabbling for more than seven years came together setting aside their differences to agree on the terms of the constitution.
As it is said, every cloud has a silver lining - the devastating earthquake taught a good lesson to the political parties, which made it possible to agree on the constitution and it was promulgated by the elected Constituent Assembly in September last year. This very move, the political parties said, was for solely focusing on the reconstruction activities.
Rebuilding Nepal - one year on from the 7.8 magnitude quake. Source: SBS
It was widely expected that the reconstruction process will gain momentum after the promulgation of the constitution but this was not to be. Our country faced another disaster as an ethnic minority residing in the country’s southern plains bordering India expressed reservations on some of the contents of statute and resorted to the worst form of protests, including an inhumane blockade of border points with India. As Nepal is a land-locked country with no access to sea, the unofficial blockade backed by India crippled the whole economy, leading to scarcities of essentials including fuel. This blockade persisted from late September to December last year, further affecting the resettlement and rehabilitation of earthquake victims.
Therefore the last year was the worst year for the Nepalese people who were awaiting prompt reconstruction and rehabilitation after the earthquake. My family too could not remain aloof from these and we had to face lots of hardships, as did all ordinary Nepalese people. Despite all, there was no option other than to come to terms with every possible measure we could adopt. We mustered courage and tried to sweep away the ‘fear factor’. We got our home checked by the engineers and retrofitted it to fit into with the new building code which was introduced by the government after the earthquake. We had to slash the height of our home and it’s just three-storey tall now. We have been living in our home since January.
Rebuilding Nepal - one year on from the 7.8 magnitude quake. Source: SBS
Now we are good and getting used to the new circumstances, putting aside the traumatic past. The earthquake of past year has taught lessons to us as well, and we have been more aware now than before towards earthquake safety. We will definitely pay attention to building earthquake-resilient houses and structures in the future.
However, the situation is as bleak as before in the villages. The government did precious little for the resettlement of the earthquake victims in general. At the outset, the government could not immediately appoint the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), tasked with channeling the donor-pledged fund of around $US4 billion on account of the differences among the political parties over who would lead this plum post. The CEO of NRA was appointed on December 26, eight months after the earthquake battered our country. Indeed, the constitution drafting task diverted the attention of the government away from reconstruction until September, and the crippling border blockade further affected it due to dearth of essential supplies for a few months thereafter. Now the blockade is over and the country has had a new constitution but the government effort is not satisfactory enough.
The NRA wasted three precious months on strategising and developing a recovery framework and it is saying it will complete the detailed study of the earthquake affected areas by this first anniversary of the April 25th earthquake and the reconstruction work will officially start. Still, 2.5 million survivors mostly in rural areas of 14 quake-affected districts of Central Nepal are living in temporary shelters. More than 700,000 houses need rebuilding.
I am cautiously optimistic that the reconstruction work will start now. But even if the reconstruction of the building is immediately started, it is highly unlikely that it will be complete before the rainy season - Nepal experiences heavy rainfall from June to August every year. So, millions of families may have to hunker down for their second rainy season out in the open after the earthquake. This is because of the inordinate delay of the government.
Well, sooner or later the reconstruction might be completed, since the government seems to have swung into action, albeit belatedly. But the question is: Will government be prepared if a similar tragedy occurs in the future? Are people more aware in building their structures earthquake-resilient? The seismologists have been warning that the entire Himalayan belt, where Nepal also lies, falls under the earthquake-prone zone. We should be prepared all the time against one of the worst natural disasters.
Yes, the government has come up with a new building code to ensure standards of safety, but it remains to be seen whether it will be implemented effectively in the future. I see some houses built under new building code in my neighborhood which gives me a little hope that there might be less destruction if another earthquake strikes.
