BHUWAN SHARMA
KATHMANDU, Jan 4: The government has prepared a plan to complete the reconstruction of government buildings and structures damaged during the Gen-Z movement within two years.
According to Rabindra Bohara, Director General of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, the department aims to complete reconstruction within two years for buildings marked with green and yellow stickers, except those with red stickers.
In line with this plan, the process of issuing tenders will begin from mid-January, Bohara said. According to him, the preliminary estimate for the reconstruction stands at around Rs 84 billion. “This is only a preliminary estimate. The actual estimate will be available in a few days,” he said.
Reconstruction of government buildings in the final stage
The Department of Building Construction has classified buildings damaged during the Gen-Z movement into three categories. Buildings that are currently unsafe for use have been marked with red stickers. Such buildings need to be fully reconstructed to restore them to their original condition. There are 134 such buildings, of which 44 fall under the department’s jurisdiction. The remaining buildings fall under other agencies.
Similarly, there are 134 buildings that sustained minor damage during the movement. Of these, 125 buildings fall within the department’s jurisdiction. These buildings have been marked with green stickers. Likewise, 176 buildings sustained partial damage, of which 100 are under the department’s jurisdiction. These buildings have been marked with yellow stickers. Engineers have suggested that such buildings need strengthening to restore them to their previous condition. The responsibility of reconstructing federal government buildings burned during the Gen-Z movement has been given to the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction and the Federal Secretariat Construction and Management Office.
Speaking at a press conference held a few days ago on the completion of his 100 days in office, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Urban Development, and Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Kumalan Ghising said that reconstruction work on buildings damaged during the Gen-Z movement including those marked with red and green stickers would be initiated immediately.
To assess the damage caused during the Gen-Z movement on September 8 and 9 and to prepare a reconstruction plan for damaged public structures, the government had formed a committee, which prepared a report with such estimates. The committee was formed on September 21 under the coordination of National Planning Commission Secretary Rabilal Panth. The committee submitted its report to Prime Minister Sushila Karki in the first week of December.
According to a member of the damage assessment and reconstruction subcommittee formed under the committee, the report has provided the government with suggestions on various points. The committee also submitted a reconstruction action plan along with the report.
The government has been advised to purchase electric vehicles as much as possible, minimize the use of furniture and wooden materials, and carry out reconstruction using fewer materials. “If the suggestions we gave are implemented, reconstruction can be completed at a cost of Rs 36 billion. Otherwise, the cost will increase significantly,” the member said.
The report includes details of damage across all seven provinces during the Gen-Z movement. According to the details, physical structures and other properties in 54 districts and 262 local levels were damaged. Overall, the report states that government property worth Rs 84.45 billion was damaged. Of the total government loss, 68 percent was borne by the federal government, while provinces and local levels accounted for 10 percent and 22 percent respectively.
The report states that 2,168 institutions/agencies were affected by the Gen-Z movement and 2,671 buildings were damaged. Damage to buildings alone has been estimated at Rs 39.31 billion.
Similarly, 12,659 vehicles were damaged. The loss in the transport sector has been estimated at Rs 12.93 billion. Likewise, the report states that damage worth Rs 44.93 billion occurred in the government/public sector.
In addition, damage worth Rs 33.54 billion was recorded in the private sector, while losses worth Rs 5.97 billion were recorded in the community and other sectors.
