PM Koirala defends government on disaster management

Kathmandu, May 17, 2015: 

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has said that the government did not fail in post disaster management after the powerful jolt of April 25 earthquake and series of aftershocks rocked the nation.

"I don't find any failures of the government during the earthquakes. The disaster was beyond our imagination and expectation. On the other hand, there was not preparedness for it," addressing a press meet at his residence, Baluwatar, PM Koirala said, "We are struggling and learning therefore, there could be lapses and weaknesses but not failures."

The earthquake, worst in 82 years has been so forceful at killing people and causing damage and destruction of property and infrastructures which has inflicted a devastating blow to the nation, he said.

He further added that thousands of precious lives have been lost, thousands of people injured and displaced. People remain traumatized following the earthquake and recurring aftershocks.  

PM Koirala expressed condolences on the loss of lives.

Monuments and sites of cultural and archeological importance including those listed in the World Heritage Sites have been destroyed.

The quake caused enormous damage to economic and social infrastructures.

According to PM Koirala, assessment of the extent of the death, damage and destruction is being done. Government intends to complete Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) by mid-June.

"We need data of victims for organized distribution of relief materials and for long term planning," he said.

Government has declared 38 of the 75 districts as earthquake affected.

PM Koirala stressed on the need of rehabilitation of the quake affected people and reconstruction of the damaged houses and infrastructure.

He made a call to the international community and all the stakeholders to extend the hand of support for the same.

"Our people need iron sheets, tents, foods, medicines and other relief items. So, I urge all concerned for the humanitarian assistance," he said.

PM koirala expressed sincere gratitude to India and China for their prompt support and solidarity with Nepalese people.

He also thanked the SAARC countries, the United States of America, United Kingdom and other European countries, the United Nations, South Korea, Canada, Turkey, Malaysia, Singapore and scores of other nations for their assistance in rescue and relief operations.

"We consider the prompt   and generous response to our appeal as an expression of our deep friendship," he said.

He praised the role of Nepal Army, Nepal police, Armed Police Force and civil servants for demonstrating professional response under trying circumstances.

"Despite fragile and deficient infrastructures in place and limited helicopter resources available, rescue operations were quickly put in place and immediate relief measures provided on a war footing," he said.

Speaking on a different note, PM Koirala reiterated that in time of national crisis like this all the political forces must be united.

He lauded the role of all political parties in addressing the challenges posed by the catastrophe.

He underscored the need of political stability for the economic growth and industrial development.

Live to Love to construct community shelters

Kathmandu, May 17, 2015: 

Live to Love, a global humanitarian initiative, has announced to create prefabricated community halls to house earthquake victims.

“In the first phase the organization will erect eight community halls in Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Sindhupalchowk and Ramechhap districts to shelter over 2,000 people displaced by the quake”, said Michelle Yeoh, actress and global amabassador of Live to Love.

Yeoh called on international community, organizations and corporations to join hands for long term reconstruction in Nepal.

“I was amazed to see the strength, resilience and solidarity of the people here in the hour of devastation and grief,” the international celebrity said.

Live to Love is collaborating with the Panchakanya Group and the Drukpa Kung Fu Nuns in Nepal.

Minister for Finance Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat performed the ground breaking ceremony of the first community hall in Ramkot, Kathmandu on Sunday.

Yeoh, Pradip Kumar Shrestha, former Vice Chairman of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Director at Panchakanya Group, Bhuwan Giri, representative from Nagarjuna Municipality were present on the occasion.

Addressing the function organized at the White Gumba at Ramkot, Dr. Mahat said that the country is at the risk of reversing economic and social progress achieved so far.

“The catastrophe was beyond our imagination and calculation. The government has limited capacity. Therefore, we appealed to the international community, organizations, corporations and individuals to be part of the rescue, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction works,” said Dr. Mahat.

The quake has caused a huge devastation and the government estimates that around 10 billion US dollars will be needed for the rehabilitation of the people and reconstruction of schools, hospitals, cultural heritages and other infrastructure, he said. 

Shrestha insisted that the construction of temporary shelters must complete before the monsoon starts.

He urged the business community in Nepal to join hands with the government and humanitarian organizations in order to help the people in need. 

365 people still missing

Kathmandu, May 15, 2015: 

At least 363 people are still missing in the havoc caused by the April 25 earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks.

According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), whereabouts of around 252 Nepalese and 112 foreigners is still unknown.

Many people are said to be missing from Langtang area, Tatopani –Arniko Highway and other various places of Sindhupalchowk, Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts.

However, according to Balbhadra Giri, deputy spokesperson at the MoHA, the government is yet to be updated on the exact locations of missing.

The powerful aftershock on May 12 killed 117 by Friday evening and injured 1,907 people.

According to the MoHA, 113 dead bodies were handed over to the relatives.

At least 43 Nepal Police, 6 Nepal Army, 11 Armed Police Force personnel also sustained injuries in the second devastating jolt.

It destroyed 3,627 houses while 8,817 houses were partly damaged in the tremor.

The quake till has claimed the lives of 8,466 so far while 16,808 have sustained injuries.

52 houses safe in Sindhupalchowk

Out of 66,688 houses, according to the 2011 Census, in Sindhupalchowk, the quake has damaged 66,636 leaving only 52 houses in shape.

The quake left the district in tatters as more than 63,800 houses were fully destroyed and 2,751 were partially damaged.

However, according to the government estimate about four thousand houses might have been built in the district after 2011.

Nuwakot has more pathetic condition as more houses have been destroyed than the census 2011 recorded. The district had 59,215 houses 3 years ago while the quake has destroyed 62,143 houses there.

The quake damaged about 88,000 houses in Kathmandu district which is the highest in any district.

Likewise, more than 62 thousand houses were damaged in Dhading and almost all of 9,778 houses in Rasuwa are also damaged.

Gorkha, Dolakha, Bhaktapur, Kavre and Lalitpur are the district where the quake ravaged highest number of houses.

Almost 500,000 houses were collapsed in the quake and 260,159 houses were partially damaged.

Relief materials distributed (as of May 15)

Items	Quantity
Rice	111,178.7 Quintal
Sugar	785.5 Quintal
Salt	1028.5 Quintal
Noodles	213,278 Carton
Beaten Rice	5603 Quintal
Biscuit	94,291 Carton
Dry Food	2730 Carton
Lentil	525 Quintal
Tents	513,177 Pieces
Blankets	105,715 Pieces
Mat	1,710 Pieces
Solar lamp	6,528 Pieces
Cash	Rs. 2.90 Billion

Source: MoHA

Govt sends Rs. 193 mn to 13 quake-hit districts

Kathmandu, May 10, 2015: 

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has disbursed 193 million rupees to the quake affected 13 districts.

The money will be used by the District Administration Offices in rescue, relief and rehabilitation of the people affected by the quake.

According to Bam Dev Gautam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, it is preliminary relief money. "More districts will receive money very soon," He said.

He also claimed that the money would be distributed in a justified way.

According to the MoHA, 70 million rupees was sent to Ramechhap, 50 million rupees to Dolakha and 20 million rupees to Okhaldhunga while Palpa, Lamjung, Tanahun and Solukhumbu received 10 million rupees each.

Similarly, 5 million rupees was disbursed to Chitwan and Parbat each and 1.5 million was sent to Dhankuta.

Manang, Rukum and Myagdi received 500,000 rupees each.

Govt to demolish all damaged buildings

Kathmandu, May 9, 2015: 

The government has decided to demolish all the individual homes damaged in the April 25 earthquake, along with the government buildings at the state expense.

It has also promised to supply all the equipment and human resources needed to demolish the high rise buildings.

The Central Natural Disaster Relief Committee (CNDRC) meeting on Sunday has decided to bear all the cost - related to the equipment and human resource, when demolishing quake affected houses in the country.

The quake has damaged more than 565,000 private houses and government building, half of them being leveled.

As many as 255,000 houses have developed fissures while many of them are unfit to live in.

Therefore, there is a growing pressure to the government authorities to demolish such houses as they pose threat to the houses around, risking lives of many.

CNDRC meeting on April 30 took decision on demolishing the houses damaged in the tremors that might crumble in the future.

The April 30 meeting has decided to remove the debris of fallen homes, acquire the dead bodies and dismantle the damaged homes.

According to the decision, A Nepal Army led team, including Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, would implement the direction by mobilizing the District Development Committees, municipalities and VDCs.

However, the decision could not be implemented as another meeting of CNDRC on May 3, decided to direct the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), with the assistance from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Management (MoPITM) and Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, to demolish the damaged houses.

In the wake of the confusion created by the contradicting decisions of CNDRC, the Council of Ministers on Friday has made it clear that the damaged houses will be dismantled by the government itself while it formed a committee which would suggest whether a building should be demolished.

The committee is being coordinated by Shiva Hari Sharma, Joint Secretary at the MoUD.

Binod KC, Joint Secretary at the MoHA, Gopi Krishna Khanal, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Devendra Karki, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of MoPITM, DIG Hemanta Pal, Nepal Police and DIG Shailendra Khanal, Armed Police Force are the member of the committee.

The committee will also have a Brigadier General of Nepal Army and chief of respective metropolitan city or municipality as members.

However, the meeting of the Council of Ministers has maintained the decision of CNDRC meeting on April 30 that the Nepal Army-led team will be demolishing the buildings.

According to the MoHA, the team can ask for government and non-government assistance if deemed.

It can dismantle the house even without the Sharma-led committee if the house owner requested to demolish their homes.

The MoPITM is asked to facilitate the team with required heavy equipments, human resources and fuel.

If the equipment required to demolish the houses in critical and complex situation is not available in Nepal, the team can make a call for a foreign assistance.

According to the MoHA, the house owners who demolish their house themselves would get the compensation as per the government decision however, that should be in the knowledge of Sharma-led committee.

The government has directed all the stakeholders to work swiftly in order to eliminate the fear from the neighbours of the damaged houses in the cities, said Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, spokesperson at MoHA.

Govt commences PDNA

Kathmandu, May 6, 2015:

In the wake of the devastating earthquake on April 25, government has started post disaster need assessment.

It has sent a team, comprised of a senior government bureaucrat, engineer and local bodies' representatives, for the post disaster need assessment in the quake-hit villages and municipalities.

"Teams have already reached the villages in Sindhupalchowk and Kavre by today afternoon," said Rajan Khanal, secretary at Ministry of General Administration (MoGA).

The government began to dispatch the teams yesterday.

According to Khanal, 500 section officers and 237 engineers have been already mobilized in the field by now.

The team will be responsible for the Initial Rapid Assessment (IRA), which will help in relief distribution and temporary settlement of the quake victims, and Multi-Cluster/Sector Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA), which will suggest for integrated resettlement of the quake affected families and reconstruct development infrastructure.

The purpose of the MIRA is to identify strategic humanitarian priorities during the first weeks following a crisis. "It helps to get the situation of the operations in the disaster-hit area with the exact information available," said Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, Spokesperson at Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA).

"As the first phase of search, rescue and relief operations was over, we must assess the ground reality and the necessity of the people. Therefore, the government has planned to send the study team in the field," said Dhakal.

According to Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat, Minister for Finance, reconstruction of the individual home is the first priority of the government. "In my view, the government should reconstruct the homes of the people at first. Then schools and historical and religious heritages should be reconstructed and renovated," he said in an interaction programme at the Ministry of Finance today.

Therefore, we need the real time data for the detailed planning, he further added.

The team will recommend for the physical planning, roads, schools, health posts and other infrastructure development while it can also suggest for the reallocation of human settlement or integrated resettlements.

It will collect the information of damage caused by the catastrophic earthquake and a series of aftershocks.

"We will get real-time data from these teams. They will collect complete information about the humanitarian and property loss while need of the people will also be documented," said Khanal.

The team will also assist in assessing the need of relief items, distribution of relief materials and construction of temporary shelter for the quake victims while it will also verify whether the government buildings that are damaged partially in the tremors are fit to move in.

According to the MoGA, preparations are underway to send the five member team, which comprises a under-secretary or section officer or school inspector, a civil engineer or sub engineer, a non-gazetted officer, secretary of the concerned village or municipal ward or technical assistance and office assistant, to all the villages and municipalities.

The team will work under the straight control and direction of the Chief District officer of the concerned district. I will have a month's period to assess the situation in the disaster-hit areas.

The Central Natural Disaster Relief Committee meeting on Sunday had decided to dispatch such teams to the quake-hit areas as soon as possible while it entrusted the MoGA for the team mobilization and coordination.

The Committee has prepared a guideline for the teams which will be mobilized in the field.

Five Nepalese rescued from Micronesia

Kathmandu, Aug 2: Five Nepalese citizens were rescued from Micronesia, an archipelago situated in the Pacific Ocean, and deported to Nepal Tuesday.

Basan Kumar Thapa of Gulmi, Wak Singh Ghalan, Kamal Bahadur Ghalan and Kamal Tamang of Chitwan, and Prithvi Tamang of Kavre were rescued from the island nation by the Nepalese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

According to a press statement issued by the Embassy, these five Nepalese were among the 16 arrested in Yap state of Micronesia.

Earlier, the Embassy had rescued seven Nepalese and sent back to the country with the assistance from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on 25^th June.

As per the statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has granted refugee status to the remaining four.

"Therefore, the Embassy has rescued those remaining five who couldn't obtain refugee status. Micronesia has rescued them and sent back to Nepal as per our request," said the Embassy.

Those 16 Nepalese were being trafficked into the United States and Australia, via Nepal-Malaysia-Indonesia route and left stranded in Micronesia without any legal documents.

Micronesian authorities arrested them immediately and issued one way travel visa for them after necessary investigation.