23,000 houses, 1,000 classrooms reconstructed

BAGMATI, DECEMBER 29

As many as 22,105 private houses that were damaged during the Gorkha earthquake in Makawanpur district on 25 April 2015 have been rebuilt so far.

Of the recorded 34,188 beneficiaries of the government grant for rebuilding quake-damaged houses, agreements had been signed with 32,805, according to the National Reconstruction Authority’s Project Implementation Unit Grant Management Office in Makawanpur.

Among those beneficiaries who signed for government grant, 78 per cent have already received the second instalment and 65 per of them have got the third instalment.

The government provides a total of Rs 300,000 for reconstruction of quake-damaged infrastructure in three instalments.

Bimal Kishore KP of the Project Implementation Unit, Makawanpur district said that 61 per cent of the houses of people enlisted in the vulnerable group have been rebuilt.

The beneficiaries of the grant who were residing in unsafe areas were relocated and were provided with land to rebuild houses, informed KP, adding that 5,575 households were permitted to rebuild their houses in their original places.

Likewise, 1,226 classrooms of 304 quake-damaged schools have been rebuilt so far.

Call for tender was recently issued for construction of 132 classrooms of 11 schools with loan assistance from the Government of Japan and the process has been forwarded for reconstruction of three additional schools with the loan support of Asian Development Bank, Badri Bahadur Pathak, Chief of the District project Implementation Unit (Education), said.

He added that 789 out of 793 classrooms and 70 toilets of 252 of 259 school buildings have already been constructed so far. These structures are being constructed through the School Management Committees.

Likewise, construction of 278 classrooms of 27 schools out of the 41 schools is on with the loan assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency have been completed, and they have been handed over to the schools concerned. Construction of buildings of 14 schools has reached the last stage.

Construction of a school building with 48 classrooms has been completed with the help of Asian Development Bank, and it has been handed over, while the construction of blocks with 48 rooms of three schools has reached the final stage.