A team of experts has arrived in Lamjung to study the earthquake-ravaged settlements that are said to be risky for human habitation.

Chief District Officer Mohan Bahadur GC said the team finally arrived 21 months after devastating earthquake of April 2015.

“We had been requesting various political leaders and government ministers to send experts in Lamjung to study the earthquake-affected areas,” he said, adding that the District Disaster Management Committee has already identified 16 villages as risky zones and urged the Home Ministry to make arrangement for relocation.

The visiting team, which includes representatives from the Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management, the Department of Water Induced Disaster Management, and geologists associated with the National Reconstruction Authority, has begun its study of the settlements at Dudhpokhari, Ilampokhari, Nauthar, Gauda, Rainas, Ghermu, Chiti, Shreemajyang, Archalbot, Phaleni, Bansar, Ghermu and Bhoje areas.

Ramesh Silwal, a team member from the Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management, said they began their study by categorising the settlements under three clusters— safe, partially safe and risky.

“We are compiling digital data and notes of these settlements and sending them to the NRA office,” he said.

Another team member, Pratap Shrestha, said that they have already identified some of the settlements as uninhabitable.

“Relocation is the only solution for the people who are still living there. We will publicise our findings and recommendations in our final report,” he said.

Most of the earthquake-affected people in Lamjung are still living in geologically risky areas as the authorities have not offered them safe locations to resettle.

According to the Home Ministry,  24,737 homes in the district were affected by the earthquake.