29 Nov, Pokhara:
The three-day National Donor Agencies’ Conference concluded today, issuing 12-point declaration to reconstruct villages of Gorkha ravaged by the devastating April 25 earthquake.
“Around Rs 30.32 billion is estimated to rebuild the damaged villages of Gorkha. And for the reconstruction, Rs 12 billion will be collected from the government and donor agencies in coming three years,” the declaration said.
In a bid to devise short, medium and long-term reconstruction plans, the conference was organised by the Gorkha District Natural Disaster Rescue Committee in cooperation with various national and international donor agencies.
The conference has formulated a strategy to rebuild necessary ravaged structures within three years, prioritising reconstruction of houses, school buildings and buildings of government offices.
It also demanded that those quake survivors living in remote areas should be provided with subsidy in the supply of construction materials, alongside Rs 200,000 to be given to each damaged house for rebuilding in compensation.
Chief District Officer of Gorkha Uddhab Prasad Timalsena said that the conference also pledged to formulate strategies to mobilize internal and external resources and attract investment in the reconstruction of structures in religious, historical and tourism sites.
He added that preparations are underway to establish an earthquake study and source center in Barpak in Gorkha, the epicenter of the quake.
He said that a decision was also taken to build earthquake memorial park in Barpak in memory of those killed by the quake across the nation and for that a taskforce has been formed.
Likewise, Local Development Officer Prem Raj Giri said that preparations are underway to set up a district emergency work operation center to store relief materials and other necessary equipments required for up to 5,000 families in case of any natural disasters.
The conference was also attended by donors, member of parliament Chham Bahadur Gurung, former member of parliaments Parshuram Ramtel and Amar Tamu, Nepali Congress Gorkha Chapter President Hari Ghale and CPN-UML district chairman Prem Bahadur Gurung among more than 130 people from various walks of life. RSS
