KATHMANDU: Work to draft a policy to address the problems of the denizens affected or rendered homeless is underway, Constituent Assembly member Nabindra Raj Joshi, who is also the coordinator of 18 CA members representing the Kathmandu Valley, said on Thursday.

According to Joshi, experts and CA members carried out monitoring of the situation last week. It was found that owners of the damaged houses were struggling to arrange new shelters and were either renting new houses or moving in to their relatives’ houses, he said.

Lack of space has become a major problem for those whose houses were completely or partially damaged in the quakes and they need to construct temporary shelters until they arrange permanent houses.

“Even the traditional chowks (courtyards) surrounded by partially damaged structures in the Valley are not safe. The core areas of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur dotted with ill-planned buildings lack open spaces,” said Joshi.

He said pulling down seriously damaged buildings was not only a tedious task but also was risky. The houses of the indigenous Newar community are attached to each other along the alleys, chowks and streets.

The old mud and stone houses are more vulnerable than the modern concrete buildings. The owners have added concrete storeys on their old mud and stone houses reaching up to seven storeys when the government has permitted up to only five-storey houses in the core areas.

“Demolishing the precarious houses could pose threat to other attached buildings. The pavements, alleys, chowks and streets are too narrow for the cranes, dozers and concrete cutters to get through for demolishing the vulnerable buildings,” said Joshi, adding that the uncleared debris of the collapsed houses along the pavements need to be removed immediately by Kathmandu Metropolitan City for the use of the equipment to demolish vulnerable buildings.

In addition, CA members are worried about partially and fully damaged historical houses and heritage buildings dating back to Lichchhaavi, Malla, Shah and Rana eras that are in need of immediate assessment and renovation for the preservation. The house pooling policy and urban regeneration is being considered to revamp the vulnerable privately owned traditional buildings with the active support of local communities.

“The old historical houses and heritage buildings are our asset, identity and recognition. Foreign tourists are attracted to the architecture, art, culture and craftsmanship reflected in the historical structures. In other words, it generates foreign currency so needs immediate preservation policy,” he said.

On Sunday, the CA members are set to hold a discussion to formulate a policy to address the problems of the damaged structures, uncleared debris and homeless locals. “The proposal, plan and policy will be formulated and handed over to government by July 8,” he said.

He suggested that the government should provide soft loans at two per cent interest to the homeless locals to reconstruct the buildings.