The government, with support from Nepal Engineering Association, is carrying out a rapid assessment of the public and private buildings set on fire during the Gen Z uprising on September 8-9.

Twenty different teams comprising officials from the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction and the association have been conducting post-arson assessment of the infrastructure to ascertain whether they are inhabitable.

Through the assessment, the teams will ascertain if the particular structures can be reused after minor repairs, can come into use after retrofitting or need to be demolished.

“This is a preliminary study. The detailed damage assessment would be done based on the findings from the first phase of study,” said Subash Chandra Baral, chairperson of the association.

The teams have so far assessed over 160 buildings that were burnt down during the agitation. Several buildings including the Ministry of Health and Population, Kathmandu District Court and the Prime Minister’s Office have gotten red stickers.

Baral said the red sticker doesn’t necessarily mean the building needs to be pulled down immediately but they are uninhabitable for now. “Whether the building can be reused or needs demolition will be decided after a detailed damage assessment,” he said.

Fire with a temperature ranging from 100°C to 200°C begins to reduce the moisture present in cement and concrete, according to experts. This moisture plays a role in holding the bricks, cement and rods together. However, as the heat gradually evaporates moisture, the internal bonds of the structures start to weaken, which in turn reduces the building’s load-bearing capacity and strength.

Temperatures between 300°C and 400°C can even alter the chemical composition of the cement used in buildings. Under a temperature exceeding that, the structure can suffer so much damage that it becomes completely unusable.

Although buildings affected by a fire may appear intact, they could collapse if exposed to an earthquake, said Baral. However, unlike during an earthquake, when an entire building is affected, fire damage might not be equally intense throughout. The areas where the fire was severe are damaged, but other parts are usable.

For instance, the southern part of the Supreme Court’s main building, which was less affected by the arson, can be brought back into use, unlike the northern part. The same is true for the Ministry of Energy building.

Baral said half of the structures in Singha Durbar are highly-affected while others have not been as extensively damaged. This means half of the buildings can be used after repair.

Hundreds of public and private properties were burnt down in the Gen Z-led protests in the second week of September.

The Gen Z protest that began on September 8 turned violent after 20 youths were killed in indiscriminate police firings. The next day, protesters not only torched the houses of then-prime minister KP Sharma Oli and other leaders, but also seized control of properties under the legislature, the judiciary and the executive. They first took control of the New Baneshwar-based federal parliament complex and set it on fire.

Within hours, the crowd swelled and spread to different locations. They broke the western gate of Singha Durbar and entered the country’s main administrative complex, and set several ministries, including the Prime Minister’s Office, ablaze. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health and Population were among the top administrative buildings torched.

Protesters also vandalised dozens of vehicles parked inside Singha Durbar. The fires from the September 9 arson were doused by Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s fire brigades on September 14.

Along with the national properties in Singha Durbar and surrounding areas, protesters burned the Bhainsepati-based ministerial quarters. Vandalism and arson that began early on September 9 continued in some places into the next day.

The office of the Commission for Investigation on Abuse of Authority, the Kathmandu District Administrative Office and dozens of police stations around the country were also set afire in quick succession. The offices of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the Department of Roads, banks and shopping malls were not spared either.

“The preliminary study is expected to be completed in a week,” said Pratigya Manandhar, information officer at the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction.