Pokhara, November 27

The donor agencies’ conference on reconstruction for quake-hit Gorkha district kicked off here from today.

The conference, in which representatives from various government agencies as well as some national and international donor agencies working in Gorkha following the April 25 quake have assembled, are expected to devise short-term,

medium-term and long-term reconstruction plans for the district.

The devastating earthquake, with its epicentre in Barpark of Gorkha, claimed the lives of 472 persons and injured more than 1,000 in the district. A total of 58,000 houses in Gorkha were completely damaged.

In today’s inaugural session, representatives of the donor agencies urged for immediate formation of the high-powered National Authority for Reconstruction (NAR) as they argued that the Bill related to it had still not been endorsed even after seven months of the disaster.

Nepali Congress Gorkha Chapter President Hari Ghale shared that as many as 13,000 quake-hit persons in Gorkha were awaiting support for reconstruction.

He also spoke of the need for organisations working in Gorkha to swing into action as soon as the plans and programmes for reconstruction are formulated in the conference.

“The agencies coming forth to provide support in reconstruction activities should not keep wondering about the way forward and instead roll up their sleeves and spring into action,” he argued.

Similarly, Uddav Prasad Timilsena, chief district officer of Gorkha said a separate strategy will be formulated in view of reconstruction in Gorkha upon the formation of NAR.

The conference will also dwell and discuss about the rescue and relief operations undertaken so far as well as about the budget the donor agencies have allocated for reconstruction, according to Local Development Officer Prem Raj Giri.

A total of 130 representatives are participating in the conference representing DFID, Oxfam, Eco-Nepal, UNDP and People in Need, among other donor agencies.

The conference runs through Saturday.