Kavre, November 1

The April 25 earthquake has caused a serious setback to the ambitious e-village project in Kavre.

Earlier, Shaikshik Gramin Bikas Kendra (Educative Rural Development Centre) had launched e-village programme targeting seven villages, including four in Mandan area and three in Deupur region. As part of the project, all government schools in the area had received internet service and e-library, livestock and agriculture-related courses had been designed as well as implemented. E-medicine service was introduced in government health facilities.

However, most of the school buildings suffered severe damage in the quake causing a serious setback to the project. Of the total 53 government schools in seven VDCs, only six schools survived the tremor.

“As almost everything was destroyed, we have to start everything from the scratch and this is time consuming,” said Krishna Prasad Sapkota, chairperson of the centre. He added that the quake had affected the centre’s plan to gradually expand the project to all 75 districts. After the plan was implemented, all the secondary and higher secondary schools in the villages had started running computer science and information technology classes. Similarly, 11 schools served as tele-centers and provide information about agriculture, health and employment to the villagers.

Meanwhile, the centre is now planning to repair the internet system by improvising the equipment that were not damaged in the quake. It is important to note that the centre had also started to develop the e-villages into green villages. As part of the plan, it had started coffee and cardamom farming in 700 and 150 ropani land respectively to develop Jaisithok, Mahadevsthan, Chandeni and Jyamdi VDCs of Mandan area and Nayangaun, Gairibisauna and Baluwapati VDCs of Deupur area into green villages.