Kathmandu : Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Friday asserted that no one in the Himalayan nation — rocked by a devastating earthquake on April 25 — would be homeless and no child will be malnourished due to lack of food and nutrition.
Addressing the country’s parliament for the first time after the April 25 temblor — that claimed more than 7,800 lives besides wreaking havoc across Nepal levelling innumerable habitations on mountain slopes, Koirala assured that reconstruction of damaged houses would be completed within two years.
“We will complete the reconstruction and rebuilding within two years,” he said.
The prime minister was moving a resolution in parliament on behalf of the government to reach out to the thousands of those affected by the quake.
The Nepal government has already announced a $2 billion fund for reconstruction and rebuilding efforts and already called for international support.
Koirala also assured that the damaged heritage buildings and monuments will be rebuilt within five years.
The April 25 quake has taken its toll on Nepal’s historic monuments and heritage buildings particularly in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts.
The prime minister said the National Planning Commission will take a lead in rebuilding hundreds of thousands of houses damaged in the quake — both private as well as government.
He also urged the donor agencies to rebuild houses according to the government’s criteria.
“If someone wants to rebuild their house, the government will provide Nepali Rs.2 lakh ($2,000) immediately. And house owners in Kathmandu will get Rs.2.5 million ($25,000) as a soft loan at two percent interest rate for rebuilding their damaged houses. Similarly, house owners outside Kathmandu will get Rs.1.5 million ($15,000) to rebuild their houses,” he said.