Government officials, diplomats and ordinary people have gathered at the remains of a fallen tower in the Nepalese capital.
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“Families who are landless and who were living on unregistered land are very much uncertain about the future and support that the government had promised”, said Prabin Man Singh, research and policy coordinator for Oxfam, who co-authored the report.
Almost 9,000 people lost their lives in the disaster, which destroyed half a million homes. “It has already been a year”.
The Red Cross says it is waiting for the Nepal government to establish guidelines on rebuilding homes, so the community members who have been learning masonry, carpentry, and earthquake-resistant building techniques from Red Cross workers can start putting up permanent structures.
Some 3mn people are living in temporary shelters with tarpaulin roofs ahead of Nepal’s monsoon season, according to Save the Children, CARE International and other agencies.
At least 753 heritage monuments were either damaged or destroyed.
A 4.2-magnitude aftershock hit central Nepal this morning as the country was marking the first anniversary of the devastating quake.
Sapkota added that the 21 Seismic Stations under the Department of Mines and Geology were not enough to carry out other works than measuring the earthquakes, so that around 100 temporary stations were established along the area stretching from Gorkha to Ramechap to record the aftershocks. Later in the day, the prime minister was due to travel to Sindupalchowk, a district considered worst-hit by the quake.
Growth is now expected to reach just 1.5 percent over the financial year ending in July 2016 – the lowest level since 2007 – according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Sunday’s commemorations were marred by a small protest by locals dressed in black who decried the government’s handling of the post-quake recovery. Police quickly removed their banner but allowed them to shout anti-government slogans.
Days after the April 25 quake, a second temblor struck Nepal, adding to its woes.
ECONOMY: The quake caused losses of $7 billion.
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“The sheer scale of the disaster, with 8 million people affected, is enormous – Nepal hasn’t faced a challenge like this in decades”.
