Recreating Nepal
We have lost infrastructure, human life and many other things when the magnitude of 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in Nepal. We have lost a huge amount of wealth and human life. Those buildings, infrastructure, temples and other things related to development have been destroyed in just some seconds. Now there is a question in every Nepalese whether we have to develop our country or we have to recreate it. It has been three months when the earthquake occurred but nothing has been done in case of recreating. Countless homeless people are still staying in either their relatives home or in tents. Government has been distributing help package to those victims but the help package is neither sufficient nor effective.
Let’s talk about that destructive earthquake to get an idea about what is to be done next. As I have been staying in Kathmandu for more than two years, I was there when a destructive earthquake occurred in Nepal. That day is also normal as usual but suddenly there was a huge change in daily life. Children were screaming, women were crying, and suddenly my dad and brother stopped walking. There were some feelings I got when the ground had started shaking. Yet I had not been aware of the fact of that particular situation. And then I heard “vukampa aayo vumkapa” then I realized that shaking was due to earthquake. We paused for a minute and later realized the earthquake was massive. Yes, that was the day when thousands of people died, thousands of people became homeless and hopeless, thousands of people left Kathmandu valley so that they could be at a safe place. 2072/01/12 was considered as the black day of Nepal. Many infrastructures were destroyed including some world heritage sites. People were saying Nepal had been forced backwards.
It has been said that the April 2015 Nepal earthquake killed more than 8,800 people and injured more than 23,000. It occurred on 25 April, with a magnitude of 7.8. Its epicentre was Barpak of Gorkha district, and it was the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. From this data, we can say that this was the devastating earthquake which occurred in Nepal and moreover, it did not only destroy our infrastructure but also revealed some facts about our poor construction. It had been saying that the earthquake does not kill us, our infrastructure kills us. We had been aware of this bitter truth but no one gave a single concentration on this. In just seconds a devastating earthquake killed more than 8,000 people, leaving countless more homeless. Buildings and villages collapsed across the Kathmandu valley.
After that, there were two complex questions “why so many buildings collapsed?” and “whether such a disaster can be avoided in future?”. We all know that such a natural disaster can be controlled. It is beyond human control. But from this earthquake we can learn many things like, how can we control the destruction, how can we minimize the human loss and what action should be taken after such a devastating disaster.
Now let’s talk about what is to be done next to recreate or let’s say develop Nepal after such great disappointing loss. First of all, we have to gather knowledge from different areas of destruction so that after the completion of the recreation process, nothing should be damaged if such tremor occurs again. A lot of things have been changed after the destructive earthquake. Many people became homeless, many buildings were destroyed, and moreover, people are still living in fear. They have a fear of another earthquake and because of this fear, many people have already left Kathmandu valley. At first, the government should take some effective action on recreating rather than on new development. Those countless homeless people should get basic human needs such as shelter, cloth and food for survival. There are some villages which have been completely destroyed. No single artificial structure could stand against that earthquake. In such villages, some research programs should be conducted so that the best place for a living can be found. Here “best place for living” refers to the place where people feel safe to build their home, where no any natural disaster can affect their home, where no should be afraid of another big loss. If we are able to find such a place, then it will gather all the people from the same village in one single unit and moreover, further, development can be done effectively in a relatively small area.
We have lost not only our home, school, hospitals, government offices but also lost some structure of world heritage sites. It will directly influence our tourism industry. Who will come to visit Nepal to see those destructed temples? The government should take effective action as soon as possible to rebuild those affected temples. It has been three months when a massive earthquake occurred but what I have seen in the field of reconstruction is only disappointment. If there is something which has been reconstructing, then that something is nothing. Moreover, Nepal is in critical condition because at the same time of reconstruction there is another problem to be solved i.e. the problem of the constitution. For some days after the earthquake, every politician has shown their interest in reconstruction but now, after the three months, I don’t think there are showing interest in reconstruction. What are they doing right now in the field of development is nothing. They have got enough knowledge about this critical condition of Nepal but have not got enough time to think single time about it. They are against each other, striking Nepal as if Nepal is their own private property rather than focusing on development. I don’t think before the constitution no one will work on recreating. And the time when we start developing our country, it will be late.
What my mind really wants to say is we should focus on both constitution and reconstruction at the same time. Neither constitution nor the process of reconstruction can be ignored. We have to work hard; we have to give enough time to continue these two processes simultaneously. We, Nepalese people, should be united in a single unit so that no any other external or internal forces can stop us from walking on the path development. That destructive earthquake has made us mentally and physically weak. We can’t forget that moment but at least for some time, we can overcome the feelings of disappointment. We should not forget that many countries have struggled to develop their country after a destructive disaster. Some people have been saying that there are not only disadvantages of natural disaster but there are some advantaged too like we have got the opportunities for sustainable development. Let’s work together to rebuild our country. We, youth, can do it. Let’s help each other, let’s unite and let’s work together to rebuild our country.
Written by: Ryanzan