KATHMANDU, Nov 9: The Ministry of Urban Development has sent a team of engineers to conduct a detailed study of the geological conditions and reconstruction of earthquake-affected Jajarkot and West Rukum.
According to Saraju Kumar Baidya, secretary at the Ministry of Urban Development, a detailed action plan will be prepared after the engineer's team prepares a report. After that, he said, the reconstruction issues will be discussed with the Chief Secretary. The team went there from Kathmandu on Monday.
The team is led by Lila Khatiwada, senior division engineer of the ministry. She is joined by Engineer Debendra Dev Khanal of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, Kishor Bikram Shahi and Naresh Chandra Bhatt of the Central Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU), Dr Gokarna Matra and Dr Rajun Suwal of Nepal Engineering Association in the team.
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According to Joint Secretary Kosh Nath Adhikari, project chief of the CLPIU, the team will study the technology to be adopted in the reconstruction, the land registration and the place where settlements can be settled, among other issues.
Adhikari explained, "The engineer's team will evaluate the existing housing conditions in the area and propose designs that can withstand seismic risks. Once the team returns to Kathmandu, we will also dispatch a geology team if necessary."
The Ministry has deputed a Senior Divisional Engineer with the rank of Deputy Secretary to oversee these critical activities. Notably, the ministry has 21 personnel from the Department of Local Infrastructure (DOLI), 14 from the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, and an additional 35 engineers of joint secretary level working.
As in the case of the 2015 earthquake, it was deemed necessary to send a team led by a joint secretary to the field. However, an official from the ministry stated, "The Ministry has 35 engineers at the Joint Secretary level, but not eve one Joint Secretary went to the field. They delegated the task to Under Secretaries. Even if there is at least one Joint Secretary, it seems that the joint secretaries do not wish to go to the field."
