KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 29

Minister of Home Affairs Bal Krishna Khand today spoke of the need to raise awareness on earthquake safety everyday rather than only once a year.

At the meeting of the 24th National Earthquake Safety Day Main organising Committee at the Ministry of Home Affairs today, Minister Khand asserted that it was the responsibility of all to protect the lives of citizens from natural disasters.

Khand said, 'Nepal is ranked at the 11th position in terms of global risk for earthquake. The Gorkha Earthquake caused huge loss of lives and properties.

It has alerted everyone.

Post-quake reconstruction process is still on.'

The 24th National Earthquake Day will be observed on 16 January 2022 at Patan Durbar Square, Lalitpur.

The government has been observing National Earthquake Safety Day on Magh 2 of the Nepali month every year in memory of the 1934 earthquake to spread awareness about earthquake safety methods.

The minister pressed for compliance with the construction related code of conduct introduced to minimise the damages of the quake.' The National Earthquake Safety Day should not be limited to formality,' he said. 'Instead,' he added, 'every citizen should be taught to save themselves during the earthquake.'

A version of this article appears in the print on December 30, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.