National
Locals unaware of better designs
Earthquake survivors in Dhading district of late are busy reconstructing their quake-ravaged houses.Harihar Singh Rathaur
Earthquake survivors in Dhading district of late are busy reconstructing their quake-ravaged houses.
Though the government sent 17 different models of quake-resistant houses in earth-quake hit districts, households affected by quake are still unaware of the models. Quake survivor Kul Bahadur Praja of Shaymaidada in Pida-6 and his family members, who were compelled to live in temporary huts during monsoon and winter, now are constructing a one-storey house on their own. They have asked help from their relatives and villagers to construct home.
“When will the government provide us with Rs 200,000 for constructing a house?” wondered Kul Bahadur, saying that he is unaware of the models of quake-resistant houses and building standards. “We have our own model and we are engineers for ourselves as long as structures constructed by us help us get out of temporary makeshifts,” he said.
These are just some cases that revealed the hardships of impoverished quake-hit people in the rural areas. However, there are other quake-hit families in the district who have not started reconstruction yet.
They are waiting for government help. Victim Sharma Tamang of Jharlang said majority of poor people living in the northern quake-hit settlement have started to construct houses without technical support.