Restoration of Kastamandap should use traditional techniques and authentic material,

setting standard for all restoration work

Kathmandu

Kastamandap, one of the most important monuments in Nepal remains a heap of bricks and mud protected by chain-link fencing. It is a relief that work has not started on the reconstruction of this monument, since if it had, we would have seen concrete piles being driven into the foundations, reinforced cement concrete tie beams being caste and a completely new structure being built by contractors with no knowledge of traditional building technology. The monument would have at best ended up looking similar to the original. Trying to ensure that correct rehabilitation of the monuments requires fighting against the government’s standard procedures.

Since the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal on April 2015, the focus has been on response and recovery. The accolades would however need to go to the resilient and hardy Nepalis who in most places have rolled up their sleeves and got down to reconstruction. The wrangling between politicians, the mismanagement of government authorities and the aloof condemnation of international community has been rather disgraceful. Maybe if we had some good examples of post-disaster recovery these could have been emulated. What are the lessons from Haiti? What process have we been following? It will soon be a year since the disaster and it is time to assess where we stand.

The Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) was prepared hurriedly after the devastating earthquake. This was the basis for a donor conference, which took place on June 25, 2015. The following day there was jubilation and news coverage showed that 300 delegates from around 60 countries and agencies pledged USD 4.4 billion. The pledge, which was half in grants and half in loans, covered two-thirds of the entire fund required for reconstruction. The donor conference was a grand success.

The PDNA, however, ran aground with the political wrangling hindering the establishment of policy and institutional mechanisms. It took another six months for the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to be declared, however, the cumbersome setup has still not been properly established. In the meantime, the government authorities went on their own rampage of spending the pledged budget without adopting policies or establishing guidelines. There has been senseless hurry to placate authorities higher up, bragging politicians and intimidating donors.

With the establishment of NRA, next stage of recovery procedure has been launched. The target is to finalise and

adopt Post Disaster Recovery Framework (PDRF) in time for the first anniversary of the Gorkha Earthquake. The PDRF is the document, which basically reviews, updates and superseded hurriedly compiled PDNA. I was asked by the Department of Archaeology (DoA) to help write narrative section of the draft PDRF for the culture sector.

Having been given just two days, it was only possible to integrate the recovery strategy already prepared by ICOMOS Nepal and Earthquake Response Coordination Office (ERCO) of DoA.

Working on PDRF ensured me that this was a logically created system that intends to bring together visions of recovery sectors. What clearly seemed to be missing in PDRF are procedures. The static framework document will not be functional unless clearly defined procedures are put in place that ensures realistic and effective implementation. This requires thinking through in detail all the required steps to ensure completion of the entire restoration process.

For the culture sector rehabilitation procedures have been drafted and are awaiting review and adoption by the authorities. These procedures will be critical for implementation of the PDRF. There would then be an assurance that the restoration of Kastamandap would use traditional techniques and authentic material, setting standards for all restoration work. In this case, it will be more important to get it done correctly than to get it done quickly.

(The author is an architect and can be contacted through paharnepal@hotmail.com)