KATHMANDU, April 26: Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi on Tuesday said that the government has requested industrialists to provide construction materials required for reconstruction at lower price.
Inaugurating a workshop entitled 'Lesson Learned From 2015 Gorkha Earthquake and Evaluation of Seismic Hazard in Nepal', Joshi said that cheap construction materials will help earthquake-affected people and the government to complete the reconstruction work at the earliest. “The government is committed toward completing reconstruction of settlements and heritage sites which were destroyed or damaged by the earthquakes of 2015. We have realized that reconstruction work should get top priority,” he added.
The workshop was organized jointly by the Ministry of Industry (MoI) and Department of Mines and Geology (DoMG). The workshop saw participation of geological scientists, engineers, researchers and policymakers from as many as six counties.
“We organized many workshops and seminars on safe construction before the 2015 earthquakes.
But these events could not make much impact as people did not take earthquake seriously. Now, we must build earthquake-resistant structures to minimize damages in case similar disasters strike us again,” Joshi said.
He also said that the government has kept seismic study high in priority.
Stating that each and every citizen of the country should unite to complete the reconstruction work in time, the minister said the entire country had showed unity after the earthquakes of 2015. “Now, it is time we showed similar unity to complete reconstruction process,” he added.
Speaking at the program, Shankar Prasad Koirala, secretary at the Ministry of Industry, said it was unfortunate that the no substantial progress has been seen in post-quake reconstruction work.
Similarly, Ambassador of France to Nepal, Yves Carmona, said that the French government sent its emergency rescue teams to Nepal for search and rescue purpose immediately after the earthquake.
“Many NGOs of France have been working in Nepal for post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation work. The Nepali government should improve the reconstruction work to build the country better,” he added.
Cement price hasn't increased: Producers
Cement producers have said that price of cement has not increased in the domestic market.
In a meeting with Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi on Tuesday, the producers made it clear that cement industries have not increased price of their products.
Similarly, Minister Joshi requested the cement producers to keep low profit on cement and other construction materials to faciliate post-quake reconstruction.
"Even a nominal reduction in price of construction materials will help to complete reconstruction work smoothly," he said, urging consumers to be cautious while buying cement.
Reconstruction should get top priority: Industry minister
