Over half million houses, mostly in rural areas, have been either destroyed or damaged by the April 25 earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks, sharply increasing the demand for these sheets in the country.   Additionally, their demand has also been fueled by the impending monsoon, which is just weeks away.

Before wrapping up his two-day Nepal visit on Wednesday, Pramod Mishra, additional secretary to the Indian prime minister who had also led  the Gujarat Disaster Management Authority in the past, told reporters in Kathmandu that India was willing to provide zinc sheets as part of immediate rehabilitation efforts if  Nepal government made such a request with the Indian side.

“Monsoon is fast approaching. And we are willing to send zinc sheets to Nepal to rebuild the temporary shelters,” Mishra said.

Mishra also added that the production of zinc sheets in Nepal could not meet the requirement and that it would take four years for Nepal to return to normalcy.

During his stay in Nepal, Mishra met with Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and other high-level officials.

In his meeting with Mishra, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala formally requested the Indian side to dispatch zinc sheets for building temporary shelters before monsoon arrived. According to a senior Nepali officer, Nepal would make such a request to the Indian side  as soon as the post-disaster need assessment of damage caused by the earthquake was completed. Besides meeting with senior Nepali government officials, he also held talks with Kathmandu-based development partners  and donor agencies like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNDP and EU, and discussed ways to assist Nepal  in the reconstruction process. He also made clear that India stood ready to support Nepal’s bid for reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts. “India will remain in Nepal’s side and assist Nepal in its rescue, search, relief and reconstruction bid, while keeping the dignity of the Nepali people,” said Mishra.