LALITPUR, JANUARY 16
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba is worried that unmanaged urbanisation could intensify the risk of earthquake in Nepal.
Addressing a programme virtually on the occasion of the 24th Earthquake Safety Day today, PM Deuba stressed the need to pay special attention to infrastructure development in order to reduce earthquake-related damage.
"We should be prepared and make plan to lessen the damages by learning from the bitter experience we had with the 2015 Gorkha earthquake," PM Deuba said. He also underscored the need to establish coordination and cooperation among all layers of government to minimise the threats of natural disasters, fire, earthquakes, etc. "The local levels should always remain alert regarding the proper mobilisation of human resources," he added.
Similarly, Home Minister Balkrishna Khand informed that Nepal stands on the 11th spot in terms of earthquake vulnerability, adding that construction of robust infrastructure was imperative.
He said the government would install early warning system so that people would be aware of the natural disasters.
He believed that the risk of earthquake would be minimised if other areas also followed the building code that Lalitpur Metropolitan City had implemented.
Minister of Urban Development Ram Kumari Jhankri viewed that not only robust buildings, but also the awareness of related geography was required to minimise earthquake-related damage. She requested all the authorities concerned to manage open spaces inside the cities that could be shared during natural disasters.
On the occasion, Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City Chiribabu Maharjan expressed pride that Lalitpur was the first city in the country to introduce and implement the Building Code, 2011, which, he argued, helped prevent huge loss during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. He further said that Lalitpur metropolis had placed human and physical resources on standby at the office of Juddha Barun Yantra, Pulchowk, for disaster preparedness.
The metropolis has already formulated the policy that prohibits construction of structures on public and unregistered land.
Moreover, Coordinator of the Earthquake Safety Day Publicity Subcommittee and Director at Urban Development and Building Construction Padam Kumar Mainali said the Department had been providing training on safe building construction since 2001.
Several plans would be forwarded by 2030 for making the country safe, according to Executive Chief of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority Anil Pokhrel.
Various other speakers, including UN Residential Representative Richard Howard pointed out the need to raise community level awareness on natural disasters such as earthquake and strengthen institutionalised works on risk reduction.
At the programme, PM Deuba virtually released the 'Bipad Pustika' (Disaster Booklet) published by Lalitpur Metropolitan City.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 17, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
