The new government has announced an ambitious rehabilitation package seeking to rehabilitate disaster victims within 100 days and solving the squatter problem within a year
A sensational news dominated the media headlines last week when the family of Panch Hate Praja of Dhading district had been found to be residing in the cave with his family of four – his spouse, son, and daughter-in-law. They did not have citizenship certificate nor had they received social security allowance already due them. They lived on only one meal a day. This news was brought into the limelight by a very energetic and enthusiastic news correspondent Posh Nath Adhikari of Kantipur Television.
This news put Nepal further behind the stone age, taking back to the cave age. Early humans took resort to the cave because it was warm in winter and cool in summer. Later, with the discovery of fire, it is said that the cave had to be abandoned because of the pungent smoke. It can be understood from the bees that run away from the hive, abandoning the honey that they have collected with much labour when the honey gatherers pick it up by smoking the hive.
The early Nepali, the Ramapithecus, appears to have lived in such a cave some 10 million years ago due to the availability of its tooth near the Tinau River, Butwal, Nawalparasi. Many caves can be found in Parbat district, which is the maternal place of Parbati. In Upper Mustang, one can still see dwelling units made inside the Shija Jhong cave. It has houses with living room, bedrooms, kitchen, and toilets. People lived in these caves around the 10th century because of frequent battles for security and safety. In fact, these caves date back to 1000BC which were earlier used for burial. Later they were used as meditation chambers.
A similar cave exists at Lascaux in France consisting of fascinating hunting scenes on its walls.
Archaeologists date the cave going back to at least 10,000 years. People then lived on hunting, and hence hunting scenes were painted by the cave dwellers.
Some donors like Tulshi Ram Shrestha, foreign diaspora, and the Nepal Army constructed the house in a mere 17 days for Pnach Hate Praja and his family together with clothing and food. Praja was so delighted that he immediately sang a folk song. The house, however, appears vulnerable to earthquakes as well as landslides at first glance. Furthermore, the use of galvanised iron sheet on the floor and walls may make the house extremely cold in winter and hot in summer to the discomfort of the Praja family.
The new government has announced an ambitious rehabilitation package seeking to rehabilitate the disaster victims within 100 days and solving the squatter problem within a year. Landslides, floods, fires, and lightning occur annually in Nepal. Besides, amega quake occurs after every 100 years and a moderate one after50 years. The victims of the devastating Jajarkot earthquake in November 2023 are still living in thermally uncomfortable sheds in both winter and summer, many of which leak profusely during the rainy season.
Similar is the case with the 2015 earthquake as well as 2024 flood and landslide victims, who have yet to receive a decent shelter. The living standard survey of 2024 has disclosed that 89.4 per cent of the poor in Nepal have their own house, and 6 per cent live on rent. The annual income of the poor is about Rs 66, 000 per year, and they spend about 10 per cent of their income on rent. So, the poor in Nepal can invest only about Rs 4,000 every year on housing.
It means that the focus of the government should be on cost effective or low-cost housing. Towards this end, Janata Housing has been launched by the provinces, but its efficacy is less than desired. It is also because of the use of conventional materials like cement and galvanised iron sheeting, which are very costly and especially so with the war in the Middle East.
For this purpose, locally available materials like bamboo and laterite soil or red mud can be used. This columnist has found that a 17 per cent bamboo reinforced laterite soil can be as strong as brick masonry in 1:4 cement mortar. Moreover, a bamboo grid structure can be used for the floors which can withstand both live and dead load.
Bamboo is a climate-resilient material when compared to its modern counterparts such as cement and steel. Whilst the production of one ton of cement pumps one ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, steel is worse as one ton of its production emits two tons of carbon dioxide. The production of one ton of bamboo in turn consumes one ton of carbon dioxide. It is also light and earthquake-resistant. Moreover, bamboo is available in almost all the districts of Nepal barring a few in the Himalayan region.
The government should thus consider using climate-resilient local materials like bamboo and laterite soil instead of environment-damaging steel, cement, and the likes for residential buildings. These materials could be used for constructing multi- floored buildings. This is the only way that the government can fulfil its promise of rehabilitating the disaster victims within a hundred days.
Apart from climate resilience and moderate cost, identity should be given topmost priority. Reconstruction following an earthquake has been criticised for constructing alien buildings when our own domestic architecture is very pleasing.
In fact, a beginning has already been by constructing bus stops in the traditional pati style in Kathmandu when Prime Minister Balendra Shah was the mayor. It may be remembered that the Premier is doing doctoral research on conservation of Newa heritage structures to promote tourism and economy in the country. This good practice of bus stop construction should be emulated in the case of other buildings as well. It will certainly promote the country's tourism and economy as desired by the Premier Shah in his doctoral research.