KATHMANDU, Feb 1: The government has initiated the repair of 32 government buildings damaged during the Gen Z movement, allocating Rs 530 million for the work.
Director General of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC), Rabindra Bohara, said the DUDBC has started the process for immediate repair and strengthening of buildings damaged by fire and vandalism during the movement on September 8 and 9. The Ministry of Urban Development has sent a proposal to the Finance Ministry demanding the release of the budget for the repair. Bohara said tenders will be called once the funds are released.
According to Prakash Aryal, chief of the Reconstruction Division and Additional DG of the department, the first phase includes repairing and reinforcing buildings under federal government jurisdiction, such as district court buildings, tax offices, and district-level land revenue and survey offices. He clarified that the Singha Durbar, the administrative building of the government, is not included as its reconstruction is under study, with an estimated preliminary cost of at least Rs 1 billion.
Reconstruction of buildings burnt in Gen-Z movement to be compl...
The ministry plans to complete reconstruction of government buildings and structures damaged during the Gen Z movement within two years. Bohara added that except for buildings marked with a red sticker, reconstruction of buildings with green and yellow stickers will be completed within this timeframe.
The Department of Building Construction has classified damaged buildings into three categories. Buildings currently unusable are marked with red stickers, requiring full reconstruction. There are 134 such buildings, with 44 under the DUDBC’s jurisdiction. The rest fall under other agencies.
Buildings with minor damage number 134, of which 125 are under the DUDBC and marked with green stickers. Moderately damaged buildings total 176, with 100 under the DUDBC, marked with yellow stickers. Engineers have recommended retrofitting such buildings to restore them to their original condition.
The responsibility for reconstructing federal government buildings damaged by fire during the movement lies with the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction and the Federal Secretariat Construction and Management Office.
A committee formed to assess damages on September 8 and 9 and prepare a reconstruction plan submitted its report to Prime Minister Sushila Karki. Chaired by Rabilal Panth, secretary of the National Planning Commission, the committee’s report estimates damage to physical structures and other assets in 54 districts and 262 local levels, totaling Rs 8.445 billion. Of this, 68 percent falls under the federal government, 10 percent under provincial, and 22 percent under local authorities.
The report notes 77 fatalities during the movement: 20 on September 8, 37 on September 9, and 20 thereafter. The number of injured total 2,429, including 17 under the age of 13 and 1,433 aged 13–28. A total of 2,168 organizations/institutions were affected and 2,671 buildings damaged, with building losses estimated at Rs 3.93175 billion.
Furthermore, 12,659 vehicles suffered damage, totaling Rs 1.29361 billion. Damage to public/government infrastructure is estimated at Rs 4.49373 billion, private sector losses at Rs 3.35487 billion, and community/other sectors at Rs 597 million.
