Scientific research Beyond: Gorkha earthquake

It has been two years since the Gorkha earthquake devastated central Nepal. As the country prepares to commemorate the second anniversary of the earthquake, tarps are not yet wrapped and two freezing winters and two torrential monsoons have already passed. Recently the National Reconstruction Authority vowed that

Recently the National Reconstruction Authority vowed that two thirds of the houses constructed after the Gorkha earthquake are non-earthquake-resistant and the looming shake may also disfigure whatever was raised above the ground following the devastating events of 25 April and 12 May, 2015.

The crucial quest is, are the remaining one third buildings quake proof? If so, what level of shaking they are meant to sustain? It’s outrageous, most of the so-called quake proof housings are not compliant with the impending seismic hazards in Nepal and none till date has dared assure that such buildings can assure “life safety”, what everyone expects worldwide during earthquakes even though slight but non-fatal damage may occur on structures.

Virtually, no progress has been seen in terms of “earthquake resistant construction” since the 1988 Udyapur earthquake. Immediately after the event, an engineer Dr. Satyendra Gupta prepared a detailed report along with some counter measures for interventions in the following days, and it should be brainstormed why, with such progress in structural earthquake engineering and technology, we are still forced to revolve around that?

This will open discussions as to whether we are going northward or not. Improved housing past to present constructions can’t be termed exactly earthquake resistant in Nepal and was not discussed after the 1988 or 2015 earthquakes; rather Brahm Shamsher Rana mentioned improved techniques in his famous account “Nepalko Mahabhukampa 1990 BS” wherein he has mentioned the selection of proper construction sites to use proper materials, among other things.

A grave concern herein is how northward we are going in the 21st century. For instance, after the 1934 great quake in eastern Nepal the then government managed 95% of the total fund internally and prioritized reconstruction with full-fledged efforts and our forefathers handled everything.

It’s sarcastic if not pitiful that the victims of the 2011 earthquake in eastern Nepal are reported to be waiting for support still. This indicates which direction and priority we have.

Several people from their platform are warning the government and stakeholders not to be overly dependent on emotional reconstruction models and housing prototypes.

The priority is important while choosing between safety or other things. Politics was the first hindrance to reconstruction followed by technocratic indifference. People were warned not to construct houses before models were developed, but the National Reconstruction Authority says that two thirds of the houses do not fulfill the requirements, and those which do are not sufficient.

A must-do by the public is to ask if they are assured safety and to what extent from future quakes and after how many years they are supposed to strengthen/repair or reconstruct their house and who is insuring for such periodic strengthening as well as reconstruction.

One side that is always forgotten and neglected is scientific research and the absorption of outcomes of scientific researches in Nepal. The government, academic institutions and other agencies don’t care about scientific researches, neither are they sagacious to spend on scientific researches.

Scientific researches in the Nepali scenario are not even considered during or before reconstruction kicks off. And it is not assured that the scientific progress made for Nepali structures will be enforced in the future. Rooted bureaucracy and dictated way of “We do this in this way irrespective of progression” need to be changed.

Better models would have been developed with scientific modeling for rural buildings as well as any other types of housing.

However government, reconstruction authority and government line agencies merely held consultations when people put forth their own ideas to highlight their so tagged ‘earthquake resistant’ models and none provided a reliable basis. It is easy to propose reinforcement bars for Barpak but what happens when the budget of steel to be used in a house is higher than that of overall construction and government subsidy?

Exemplary reconstructions do exist on earth: the reconstruction efforts and successful accomplishments after the Lisbon and Emilia-Romagna are some. Our reconstruction has not been as per expectation. The problem is not with the ongoing discussions, but the root of the problem lies within the existing building regulations.

It is high time for Nepal to formulate a reliable, applicable and self-sufficient building code at least in the aftermath of the Gorkha earthquake.

As public safety is the highest priority for any nation, formulation of an accountable and reliable building code is an integral part of assuring public safety against several natural as well as anthropogenic forces. Blaming the public for not following the regulations doesn’t sound convincing,. and it is the concern of the government to enforce efficient civil protection measures.

[This op-ed piece was originally published by The Himalayan Times on 25 April 2017 as: https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/scientific-research-beyond-gorkha-earthquake/ ]

History and monumentality: No build-back

After the Kashmir earthquake of 2005, former Berkeley professor and conservation architect Randolph Langenbach penned a malevolent compilation, “Don’t tear it down!” He was amassed with the art and artifacts in serenity and didacticism, purely conservationist and massive upheaval of tumultuous voices of heritage concerns across the globe for endorsing the historicity and monumentality of ‘Dhajj-dewari’ a majestic and meritorious architectural forms practiced for centuries in Kashmir.

The concern is safety and serviceability of structures.

However monumental and historical constructions are super-subtle, arteries of cityscapes and also deep down canals to infringe millions of dollars just due to their two verdant leaves-historicity and monumentality, otherwise jellied sophistications like bikini in freezing winter.

Dharahara replaced by a skyscraper laden with multiplexes and junk food centers is not desirable. Dharahara is a landmark of the country, conjectures feelings, beliefs and evokes the then reflection of 1832 Nepal’s respiration-undoubtedly majestic, scholastic and nationalistic contemporising the legacy of Bhimsen Thapa.

Apart from inside-the-cloth values, it has the most august architectural and civilization values of the 19th century and used to drag tens of thousands of visitors to snap the hearty panorama of Kathmandu valley before being knocked down by the 25 April 2015 earthquake.

Notably it was grounded during the 1934 earthquake too, but the reflective reconstruction was possible immediately, downsizing the stories, however the façade nevertheless morphed-a direct descent of the evolutional Dharahara!

Hereafter, one inference should be clarified, every dwelling that are to be constructed/re-constructed should be strictly on modernity assuring the seismic safety criteria.

However heritage and monuments are open archives and would die when poisoned with modernity. A lot of measures are there to erect without fallacies, seismic characteristics and preserve vivacity.

What Nepal and other world expects in case of heritage is not opening oriental food cafes, cinemas or wine and dine hubs, the sacred and perpetuated nerve shouldn’t be dismantled. Dharahara is replaceable by only Dharahara of its own type, the same applies for Maju Dega and others.

Before rushing off to modernized templates, the earth to space values are necessary, everyone can draft, propose and contend aesthetic tri-dimensional sketches. The socio-cultural dynamics is not morphed until the stage of destructive ultra-modernization and yet the values are respired by every people.

Undoubtedly, heritage is not the hippy pants-when you want it modified, shortened, roughed or carved punk. But rather accepting and endorsing values count a lot, heritages have long irrigated the greenery of the cityscape so the strict demand to be reconstructed in the same form, function, dimension, with the same materials.

Constructions have heritage values even after approximately 50 years. Their scrap value exponents are invaluable demanding routine rehabilitation.

Patronage matters a lot for heritage like the seductive galleries of 19th centuries that should be surviving, of painstaking vibrancy and parenthood through public care and affection.

People are perturbed, hypnotized and lessoned, the truest and irreplaceable herb is the cement-concrete-reinforcement complexion, partly agreeable and true for modernist and theorist dimensions of dwellings chalets to skyscraper though no-nonsense assignment is quite far from such founded but tilted assumptions that lies in restoration strictly.

Heritage will be no more a heritage if value is sacrificed, fashion is traumatized, space is commercialized and the face is painted in a gory complexion of modernist fallacies.

The rest of things are already red-carpeted for all these ultra-generation flairs, rambling and unconstrained hypothesis shouldn’t overshadow the traditional aspects-west can’t travel half a globe to see some flexed Indian movies in Dharahara tower always zealous of lifting into the hazy ambient of Kathmandu and eyeing down Kathmandu is the value and being lifted is seemingly a facility as we have been practicing in the Annapurna base camp. What happens someday if we start cable cars in Mount Everest?

Dharahara is for climbing hundreds of steps and breathing high and it should stand again with same the purpose used before.

Frenzied resolutions without public consultations and depreciating the value of structures and heritages are undoubtedly meant to erect many heritages in the form of an octagonal temple-odd man out in the majestic Bhaktapur city.

Eyes are closed and seemingly color-blinded with nothing except steel and concrete.

Remembered are Malla dynasties, Bhimsen Thapa and creators of Greco-Roman august architectural landmarks shaping the indigenous materials in the form with robust performance, beautified façade and spacious and lively vibes in all historical and monumental buildings.

Conclusively, they strongly demand the preserved form, functions and materials except for some garmented ornaments for earthquakes and other hazard resilience, not a bikini of assured modernity!

[This op-ed piece was originally published by The Himalayan Times on 03 November 2016 as: https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/history-monumentality-no-build-back/ ]

Role of civil society: Revitalization need

Discussions are now heightened for a new government in Nepal with unprecedented but obvious failure of the so coined left-democratic coalition.

Meanwhile this overturn leaves a couple of quests buoyed on surface for Nepal’s sustainability and prosperity which is truly apolitical but a national agenda. After the spring revolution of 2006, the existing parties in Nepal are allied together to rule in every dimension of the country.

At the grassroots level they have “7/8 parties’ mechanism” that is ruling in the absence of local representatives. The mechanism also exists in central, regional, student and bureaucrat levels. Seemingly, they are bargaining and virtually quarreling.

However, although everyone benefits, their superficial crocodile’s tears are no more than bullying the minds of ordinary folks.

The road maestros during the spring revolution were the civil society members [primarily] and thereafter paralyzed by the political honeycombing through an intruder.

The general definition should incorporate all the professionals including engineers, doctors and others and should represent the civil society and act like a watchdog so as to track the government and bureaucracy.

This contention seems fallacious for Nepalese society as the leaders of civil society and professional society have already put on “sale” their watchword and run behind political recruitment.

It should be clear by seeing some heads of academies and acts of neo-natal self-proclaimed civil society members. Shamelessly they are running behind persons deviating from the major issues and being political cadres mortgaging their dignity.

This is crucial and needs to be brainstormed by everyone. Primarily, the first culprit is the civil society and secondly, the public.

Indeed this anticipation needs clarification; however it is a lucidly whistle-blown fact that the civil society members [majority] raise the issues according to the benefit of their political affiliation, not for public benefit.

Secondly, the public is dangerously over-educated shooting through the air in unwarranted assumptions, so they are over-informed but still misinformed and do not rely on civil society interpretations.

Amidst such hiatus, parties benefit exponentially so that their mechanism could fix issues and absorb benefits irrespective of national interests.

In addition, majority of civil society members have canoes capable of bi-directional navigation and well camouflaged to persuade people and the parties. This led to the weakest civil society in Nepal amongst the countries that follow democratic system.

Otherwise, how could the suppressor of spring revolution rule us shamelessly and drive vital commissions, security agencies and others? Now, it would not be wrong to conclude, Nepal’s current system is not a democracy but an oligarchy and everything is fixed behind the curtain except for some buoyed bargains.

Newspapers and analysts seldom cover such issues even if they are the fourth estate. Praises and critics could be seen but the civil society opinions are seldom prioritized and people never get information on what experts say on particular issues.

It is nonsense to read and watch the views of charlatans rather than the confined experts in any social, cultural and technological aspects. Noticeably, the people are ridiculously commenting with their marginal knowledge and and are divided.

This is due to the overreaction of charlatans and suppression of related personas.

Nepal’s education curriculum rejoices more on status quo rather than development, change and opening horizon of broad analytical spectrum for fresh breeds of students who could contribute effectively to nation building through of late updated skills and interpretations.

Someone who is well informed never speaks in Nepal and someone who is outspoken knows less.

Virtually Nepalese society is in a state of prolapse. This doesn’t mean a state of failure but a state of complication wherein we see, but we never recognize what is going to happen and where we are going.

Voices of sovereignty will attenuate every time and Nepal would be a playground of giants though public awareness would never go up with the conventional parties continuously elected.

Contemporary issues are never in the minds of fresh breeds.

Undoubtedly over and under participation are no participation either and overlooking the visa for Australia, Canada and the United States seems to be the resolution of state volatility, though it is high time to re-think if the youngsters are lured by weekend parties or should sacrifice for homeland by loosening hermetic lips?

Hedonistic life may put forth happiness but joy lies in small changes in nation, so change is inevitable in Nepal if the informed speak out.

The verdant future of Nepal is in the hands of informed but apolitical people [civil society] who could interpret every dimension of social upliftment with an apolitical looking glass and become the strongest force to govern the policies and practices, overly politicized and hermetically hedonistic attitudes which are ruling nowadays and are threats to Nepal’s prosperity and sovereignty.

Revitalization of civil society and trust in it is what the nation is eagerly waiting for.

[This op-ed piece was originally published by The Himalayan Times on 25 July 2016 as: https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/role-civil-society-revitalization-need/ ]

Long hibernation: Many things to do

In commemoration of the devastating 25 April, 2015 Gorkha earthquake, stakeholders are seemingly planning to light candles with gossips of rapid but tepid reconstruction!

As the previous government sanctioned around a billion dollar budget for ‘relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction’ however, it hasn’t spilled over anywhere in between Barpak to Kodari.

The national reconstruction authority (NRA) is still pondering over the so-called planning and recruitment, a sluggish move comparable to Haiti in the global panorama.

The PM declared he would reconstruct the Dharahara tower, yet it is waiting for the foundation stone and everyday dwellings are flying with some architectural, colourful but untested and possible but not justified emotional drawings.

Is Nepal government virtually ruled by some funding agencies? The government has enrolled in the bureaucracy thousands of civil and structural engineers, yet the government is recruiting consultants just to do some computer aided designs.

Everyday people always question what the heck the government employees civil and structural engineers are doing then as it is not able to draft, analyze, justify and approve the designs?

The hibernation of government is backed largely by the soporific bureaucracy and aloof political leadership.

One year is a big loss for a nation which wants to graduate soon to a developing state and plans rapid economic growth.

High dependence and the government’s unrelenting expectations have converted the medium loss into enormous loss and a challenge of reconstruction as critical as that of Haiti.

This was inevitable and easily justifiable with the government’s steps in the past few decades. The Nepalese government expects some bucks and reconstruction is a big deal!

The common concern is where is the budget sanctioned in July wandering till now? Surely, with the bureaucracy! With such yawning bureaucrats, construction of cow sheds may exceed one year.

Construction of almost three quarter million edifices is a dream for the aloof bureaucracy and begging mindset.

Apart from the negations, Nepal still has hope to reconstruct with the least possible foreign aid through cooperative frameworks.

Indeed cooperative frameworks, community forestry, volunteerism and altruism could be the four corners of dilapidated post-quake reconstruction.

The Indian state of Gujarat reconstructed 1.2 million houses within the proper time frame and the astonishing success story of reconstruction is lauded across the globe. It is high time for Nepal government and bureaucracy to show integration, efficiency, service and patriotism.

If the government pedals on the reconstruction field, people will surely congregate to finish the race, a paradigm could be effective to see, how Modi’s sweeping practice was followed by thousands.

Why do the Nepalese leaders not plan to work in reconstruction projects along with their cadres? It is obvious that, universities could contribute with their students, lecturers could invite their pupils, and athletes could do their practice session on the reconstruction ground and so on.

The NRA is already ruined due to lack of apolitical, workaholic and conceptual mindsets.

Unlike the common principles and expectations recruitment of cadres might overturn the reconstruction milieu, NRA shouldn’t be established for rebuilding houses for UML, Congress or the Maoists.

At this time, the government should be conscious about the use of cooperatives principles for reconstruction efforts, resources could be shared among the victims where ever they are and the labour exchange could be effectively practiced.

People have dreams as the government has printed on some flexes with architectural flavours.

However reconstruction may meet their expectations due to the fact that people can’t wait for years to reconstruct single storied/two storied houses as per the government and its employees’ installment concept.

Almost 70% people could have till date reconstructed their own houses if some technical supports were provided and reimbursements were assured.

However, the government seems reluctant to ask people to reconstruct themselves. Rather several legal steps and bills were put forth turning a deaf ear towards the people beneath the tarps and temporary shelters.

The consequences of overly politicized social dynamics and resource constraints, along with the dependence to every single bricks to be lifted by the government will hamper the rapid reconstruction.

Post-quake reconstruction shouldn’t be like the Melamchi project. Going through cooperatives framework by eyeing seismic safety, other interacting hazards and their countermeasures will be an effective tool for participatory reconstruction framework.

Nepal should learn lessons from Haiti, Gujarat and others but it’s never obligatory to follow the same framework but to develop some participatory and welfare based reconstruction approach.

Till date, only earthquake effects are emphasized and other disasters like floods, landslides, among others, are devalued in policy making to planning. Sagacious planning is needed right now so as kick off wise reconstruction.

[This op-ed piece was originally published by The Himalayan Times on 11 May 2016 as: https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/long-hibernation-many-things/ ]

Post-quake reconstruction: Capacity building, resilience must

Despite the fact that reconstruction should be adhering to modern scientific dimensions, capacity building of technicians and engineers is absent in gearing up the reconstruction works effectively, universities haven’t trained properly, exposures are not efficient and sharing and learning in terms of innovation is recessive in Nepal. In this verge of reconstruction time, hurried recruitment and ad-hoc deployment of engineers and technicians may be outlandish efforts to wrap up the reconstruction rather than assuring seismic safety and resilient constructions.

The framework of reconstruction has not solidified yet at least in terms of structural resilience. The product flyers and architectural aesthetics are ridiculous, as these structures shouldn’t fly in the sky so that structural performance is  compromised  for the sake of aesthetics. It is high time for the government of Nepal to reclassify the designers and analysts and associated analysis and design frameworks. What is happening till date is a substandard practice of structural analysis and detailing, which some day will be bitterer than our past governed by the seismic activities across the entire Hind-Kush-Himalaya.

Apart from this, professional societies should feel happy in empowering the members affiliated in truly resilience concepts. The parried discussions of empowering seismic codes in Nepal should be unrestrained, providing an eased window to penetrate the justified innovations and researches adhering to Nepalese structures across the globe.

Quite often Nepalese building codes are more restrained to emotional dialogs. Indeed, patrimony counts a lot, though there are thousands of ways for constructing edifices with seismic safety. Moreover, they are truly justified as well. Several I/NGOs are trying to rule out the justified ways of constructions with their hit-and-trial concepts. This is pitiful if Nepal endorses them.

The diversified cultural setups in Nepal could be addressed by the edifices adhering to patrimony. In doing so, the labyrinth of imported yet vague structural forms and techniques can be kept aside. Besides this sustainable technology transfer could be assured for the local masons using indigenous materials. That the lucrative concepts of enforcing sophisticated materials and technology takes Nepal nowhere may be true. The government of Nepal will be funding the materials.

However regular maintenance and strengthening will be in disarray as none of the importers will take care of their sold items. So it’s the Nepalese government who should judge with sagacity what materials are sustainable and assure patrimony in order to assure routine maintenance and strengthening at the local level with low cost. The frame of the construction efforts should also have associated risk transfer frameworks like insurance of land and edifices. It is a must for all households going to be reconstructed under government funding. When the government funds a house, surely it should take responsibility of future events and possible damages in terms of multi-faceted disasters like landslide, fire, earthquake and others.

Along with reconstruction, land-to-edifice insurance can be effective to assure housing for all, even in case of disasters in future. However, although the government is doing advocacy in some of the prototypes developed by agencies, it is the people’s right to ask for the structural analysis of those structures and also the people deserve to ask  what kind of land is suitable for such housing  if the land for reconstruction is not proper. People again deserve to acquire safer land-plots for housing construction. By assessing the land plots and construction sites, it would be wise to assure housing for earthquake victims. The landslides triggered and the fissures in central Nepal are yet to be considered for reconstruction efforts.

At least the government should map the safer settlements and development of centralized housing system in safer areas should be promoted rather than merely providing funds for houses to the local people. In addition to this, the government can construct houses and sell them to earthquake victims with the committed fund. In doing so, resilience, safety, accountability, employment and rapidity in construction can be expected if the consultants do not cheat the earthquake victims.  It’s true till date that the corruption in government to consultant level has severely affected the quality of construction, even in critical facilities, which is obvious for common construction.

This is the appropriate time for Nepal to wipe out reckless efforts in construction practices and also high time for engineers, consultants and the government to assure multi-hazard resilient structures for the earthquake victims.

It is almost a global trend that after each disaster localized settlements become more resilient than others beyond the circumference. However, learning lessons from central Nepal would be pivotal for mid-western and far-western  hills, as the seismicity in the Nepal Himalayas should be understood. Such lessons may be instrumental for assuring structural safety in case of future disasters in any part of the country.

[This op-ed piece was originally published by The Himalayan Times on 06 April 2016 as: https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/post-quake-reconstruction-capacity-building-resilience-must/ ]

Living with earthquakes: Fortune favours the prepared

Commemorating the anniversary of the great Nepal-Bihar earthquake of 1990, Nepal observed the 18th Earthquake Safety Day on 2 Magh, 2072. Long swaths of time after the devastating earthquake of magnitude 7.8 in the Richter scale and the strong aftershock sequence, Nepal is switching towards the reconstruction phase. Nepal is designated to be 11th most vulnerable region as depicted by UNDP and the seismic risk will be ad infinitum, and surely will project exponentially due to socio-economic variants and marginal constructions–more commercialized and under-considered with regard to seismic and multifaceted disaster safety. The Nepali quake is placed between Haiti and Chile earthquakes of 2010. The former was some 40 times weaker and the latter was 50 times stronger than the Gorkha earthquake. Haitian paradigm has awakened the world in terms of post-quake reconstruction failure. However the Chile earthquake mirrors the efficacy of prevention and preparedness and proper implementation of seismic codes–surely structural damage is the most dominant factor for casualties and property loss. The loss of US$ 7 billion is irreparable, and 8790 casualties are also tragic. Nepal should learn from the Chile earthquake of 2010; indeed fortune favours the prepared ones!

It is believed that the anthropogenic activities are more brutal towards earthquake impacts rather than the earthquake itself, and evidently it has been verified by the Gorkha seismic sequence. After enforcement of building codes in 2003, Nepal’s journey has begun into the direction towards resilience though progress is yet to be visible and pragmatic. The engineered constructions of Lalitpur sub-metropolitan city have justified the widened discrepancy between imposing something rather than nothing at all. The damage intensity could be said to be nominal for Lalitpur sub-metropolitan city, as it has endorsed and ensured at least some mandatory rules of thumb for construction. All other newly baptized as well as reluctant cities can learn from this paradigm. Reconstruction in any area should be properly assured with a standard level of seismic safety–surely the emotionally beautiful and aesthetic plans may not necessarily reflect seismic demands and associated seismic considerations and details. Moreover, we should not devalue the role of construction site soil–as reflected in some parts of Sitapaila and Gongabu during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake.

The Disaster Management Act should come into effect so as to address the multifaceted disasters in Nepal as sagacious planning is needed before the much discussed and less exercised reconstruction kicks off. Eighteen years of continuous dedication towards seismic safety in Nepal will then only bear fruit. The future will be surely more challenging in terms of growing urbanization, mushrooming population and marginal suburban and village constructions which survived during 1988 and 2015 earthquakes which, however, are fragile and waiting for only minor shakes to be knocked off. Reconstruction can’t stride cornering such constructions, otherwise future consequences will overrun the Gorkha earthquake damage statistics both in terms of casualties as well as economic losses.

During the Gorkha earthquake the widespread challenge leading to damage was poor workmanship even if the design was satisfactory, and rural housing is never designed. It is very true that some exhibitions in cities displayed with flexes without overlooking the availability of materials, identifying the seismic behavior and selecting proper sites of reconstruction assured that the imminent threats will be dyslexic and will trespass the seismic standard of performance. Indeed single reconstruction model will be suitable throughout the areas to be reconstructed, and it should be well accounted that unless local resources are optimally used, the government promised budget will be drop in the ocean!

Observing National Earthquake Safety Day also means that it should deal with some promising issues like adequate seismic code camouflaged with available resources, technical competencies and more localized construction guidelines. Rambling and unconstrained practices of construction are to be monitored along with the rocketed incremental constructions across the cityscape. This is high time for Nepal to rethink over the scattered settlements–Nepal can choose clustered cityscapes where multifaceted disasters are neutralized with preparedness. Imperative to mention is, there are 83 open spaces in Kathmandu valley; however some four million people wanted to stay there after 25 Gorkha earthquake. This is enough to rethink over the populous landscapes like Kathmandu, otherwise the 18th National Earthquake Safety Day will be only the continuation of ‘DROP, COVER and HOLD ON’ drill day with some simulations irrespective of the structural safety considerations.

The lessons of rapid and efficacious reconstruction from Bhuj (India), preparedness paradigm from Maule Chile earthquake of 2010 and preventive measures against failure of reconstruction delay and failure from the 2010 Haiti earthquake should be brainstormed in cerebral discussions. Undoubtedly quakes may rattle in future; however, improvised coping will downscale the severity and it’s always true, ‘Fortune favours the prepared only’.

[This op-ed piece was originally published by The Himalayan Times on 29 January 2016 as: https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/living-with-earthquakes-fortune-favours-the-prepared/ ]

Rebuilding rural Nepal: LESSONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

The Gorkha seismic sequence started with the strong 7.8 Richter scale magnitude earthquake followed by aftershocks of 6.7 and 7.3 magnitudes have caused severe damage amounting to much more than 400 billion Nepalese rupees. About 95 per cent of the buildings damaged are concentrated in the countryside of central Nepal and adjacent areas. However, dialogues regarding rural reconstruction are overshadowed by something else. As the monsoon has bid farewell already, the weather extremity could hit hard during winter in the high hills of central Nepal. Immediate interventions are needed in terms of re-framing the rural reconstruction modules and thereafter activities. Rural Nepal seldom accentuates the sophisticated technologies, rather their resolution is no more than the vernacular technologies to be adopted for rebuilding their shelters. In lieu of modern and uneconomic reconstruction, rural Nepal needs vernacular earthquake resistant technologies for cost-effective rebuilding processes. With the aim of reassuring the vernacular construction technologies engrossed by local materials and masons, a team of experts demonstrated a vernacular rural house within five days in Mankhu of Dhading district.

The house was constructed implementing gabion bands, which is an innovative technology so as to assure safety of houses during earthquakes and lessening the damage in terms of structural as well as non-structural failure. Careful selection of clay in the neighborhood and using local craftsmanship and stones available from the knocked down rubble were used for reconstructing a house of a Dalit family in Dhading. The house was constructed along with a chimney installed within it so as to improve the health of rural woman. Moreover, it was observed that a few of the houses within the neighborhood had chimneys installed in houses. An integrated reconstruction aspect was deployed for construction of the house with a small budget using local craftsmanship, masons and resources.

The didactic lessons from the 2015 Gorkha earthquake was carefully considered like prohibiting organic clay, assuring homogeneity of walls and proper connection between the stones used for constructing a wall. A low cost housing technology in vernacular flavor was thus successfully constructed and handed over within five days. In this process, six masons were also trained about gabion band technology and other earthquake resistant construction technologies using native low cost resources as well.

Tracking back the vernacular aspects of rural Nepal for comfort and compliance is a must for future reconstruction. In such practices pondering over the modernized sophistication doesn’t assure comfort and low cost. For instance, Barpak village will be awesomely adorned if we are again reconstructing the houses in a traditional fashion assuring seismic safety components. Engrossing the vernacular technology in terms of capacity building of local workmanship and indigenous skills are direly needed in Nepal to perform large scale reconstruction works, making all those efficacious with assurance of safety in future events. Still people flaunt their local technologies of construction. Surely their good aspects are to be endorsed and somehow rectified. However, such technologies are nevertheless sufficient for assuring seismic safety in rural Nepal.

So, integration of vernacular technology and incorporation of justified components within such construction should be accomplished before deployment of reconstruction efforts. Rather than stockpiling the stones without any other earthquake resistant features, gabion bands could be the ideal solutions.

Small amount of timber and proper selection of building form along with the vernacular sense may turn the performance paradigm without altering the vernacular flavor. The precepts of timber engendering the rest of the materials and majestically standing in most of the damaged houses have tales to deflect the attention towards any other ‘foolish’ techniques. However reinforcement of all those grandfather-led technologies are direly needed and somehow, it has been done through gabion construction practices in remote areas.

Unlike gabions, frugal conscience could be instrumental if we are able to use timbers from community forests in rural Nepal. However, although the earlier practice should be guided by outnumbering plantation in the vicinity before chopping down a single tree, reconstruction can’t accelerate undermining environmental issues and sacrificing the ecosystem either. We haven’t brainstormed in reconstruction and still budgetary allocations have to go through stringent policies and practices of the bureaucracy. The paralyzed National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) should do everything possible with regard to rural reconstruction. Discussions should not be seemingly broader, rather all the trysts are to be overshadowed by expert and innovative ideas because we can’t afford prodigal solutions and going towards frugality is the only way left. Corruption in terms of technology transfer, budget malfunction and fabrication with voluminous reports without assurance of proper safety are visible challenges. However, in every step, challenges would ooze out and rule out the construction works.

[This op-ed piece was originally published by The Himalayan Times on 20 November 2015 as: https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-rural-nepal/ ]

Monsoon woes: Quakes portend aggravation

Before the monsoon, like yesteryears, many agencies and government departments are scheduling meets for ad-hoc response to the torrential precipitation led floods. This year, after the devastating quake of 25 April, the scenario is further aggravated in terms of slope failures, landslides and associated floods. Exact monsoonal prediction, dissemination of catchment characteristics, rate of degradation of forest covers and top soil composition, among others, are ubiquitous issues to be resolved in Nepal. Most of the predictions from governmental agencies are inverted and most of the time, there is little dissemination of information to the people under threat of flash floods and landslides.

Normal monsoon in Nepal is expected to occur from June to September, and notably during the monsoon of 2071, the National Emergency Operation Center recorded 70 flood events and many other torrential precipitations guided landslides, flash floods were observed. With due account of such events and flood frequency analysis, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) must predict a model at this moment, otherwise flood fighting is impossible at the eleventh hour.

We are obliged to stay alert with poor predictions on time and again as the DHM prediction seldom correlates the events, hence surely this is the time to boost up the capacity of the DHM. Vicious effects of floods relate to epidemic outbreak, animal attack and loss of biodiversity and human sentiment, among others. Though, the exact rate and status of climate change impacts in Nepal are yet to be predicted, the inter-linkage between hydro-meteorological processes and climate change is seldom discussed.

With increase in surface runoff and inundation in Nepali plain land, the issue is now not only for Nepal, rather this engrosses India and Bangladesh as well. Integrative response from Nepal, India and Bangladesh are strongly lagging behind; and the hiatus in trans-boundary water problems is well reflected in terms of the 2008 Koshi flood. There are many things to be learnt from Koshi and subsequently the South Asian framework against floods and climate change impacts is direly needed at this juncture.

During SAARC or other regional platforms, coping with natural disasters are often dealt as cross-cutting issues, though the entire South Asia is under grave threat of hydro-meteorological disasters. There’s a common marginalization problem in the entire South Asia, as all countries aim for development, rather than a rapid economic development, irrespective of the associated impacts and disastrous outlooks.

The tale of fissures running from Gorkha to Sindhupalchowk is alarming. Boulders are ready to topple down and mass movement during the monsoonal rainfall. This time we will be facing very severe cases of landslides and associated floods, and many of the countrymen will be isolated in these areas. The fissures reflect the vulnerability in terms of landslides, so there’s an urgent need of relocation of the vulnerable settlements.

Budgets allocated for embankments and other preparatory activities in Nepal have not yet reached the field and there are little pre-monsoon preparedness. Hence catastrophic events might overrun the local level initiatives and ad-hoc response would be uneconomic and non-pragmatic as well. Hasty repairing activities at the eleventh hours wouldn’t assure the desired strength and resilience of structural preparedness in terms of flood fighting.

Rather than starting with the monsoon; all repair works are to be done in the pre-monsoon period. Community-based flood fighting mechanisms are feebly practiced. Local good practices, community initiatives, appropriate technologies are resilient practices at local levels. Most of the I/NGOs are fabricating voluminous reports of community initiatives, though the execution level is not as per their documentation. An early warning system is not functional and adequate in Nepal, so the people with low economic status are easily victimized by hydro-meteorological related disasters. In case of floods, the marginalized people, women and children are more vulnerable than any other people. Installation of sirens and mobile voice calls basically in local languages could enhance efficacy of information flow.

The blatant impacts of floods are undoubtedly engulfing resources, human sentiments and national budgets every year. Organizing pre-monsoon seminars with status-quo practices in case of hydro-meteorological modeling and prediction and dormant preparedness initiatives is illogical.

Revitalizing the hydro-meteorological stations, real-time database management, capacity and adequacy of flood forecasting manpower, preparatory works for the possible events, resource allocation and effective mobilization, among others, would surely contribute to better cope with floods and other hydro-meteorological events. As in recent years, through phenomenological studies, it could be said that the rainfall pattern might have shifted somehow. The combined adversities of famine, floods, epidemics, landslides, among others, would surely adversely affect livelihoods in Nepal.

[This op-ed piece was originally published by The Himalayan Times on 24 July 2015 as: https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/monsoon-woes-quakes-portend-aggravation/ ]

पुनर्निर्माणको बहस: अबको संरचना भूकम्पीय मात्र नभई बहुप्रकोपीय जोखिमप्रतिरोधी हुनैपर्छ

करिब साढे आठ हजारको मृत्यु र झन्डै सात लाख घरमा क्षति पुग्ने गरी आएको वैशाख १२ को विनाशकारी भूकम्प र शक्तिशाली परकम्पपछि नेपालमा पुनर्निर्माणका बहससघन भएका छन्। 

महाविपत्तिको यस घडीमा जति धैर्य र सहनको जरुरी छ, सँगसँगै पुनर्निर्माणप्रति राज्य, नागरिक र नागरिक समाजको उत्तिकै ध्यान जानुपर्छ। 

विशेषगरी प्राविधिक जनशक्तिले अब बन्ने संरचनालाई कसरी विपद् प्रतिरोधी बनाउन सकिन्छ भन्नेबारेमा पर्याप्त छलफल गरेर व्यवस्थित रूपमा बस्ती बसाल्न योगदान गर्नुपर्ने परिस्थितिको सिर्जना भएको छ। 

परम्परागत ढंगले नेपाल अबको परिवेशमा चल्दैन र चल्छ भने हामीले भन्ने गरेको नयाँ नेपाल बन्दै, बन्दैन। वैशाख १२ को भूकम्प त एउटा प्रतिनिधि मात्र हो जबकि नेपाल विभिन्न किसिमका जोखिमले आक्रान्त क्षेत्रमा पर्दछ।

विश्वमा अनेकौं खोजमूलक संस्थाले गरेको अध्ययनअनुसार नेपाल बहुप्रकोपीय जोखिमका हिसाबले बीसौं, जलवायु परिवर्तन सिर्जित जोखिमका हिसाबले चौथो, भूकम्पीय जोखिमका हिसाबले एघारौं एवं बाढीजन्य जोखिमका हिसाबले तीसौं स्थानमा पर्छ। 

यसरी तथ्यांकीय हिसाबले हेर्दा हामी सहजै आकलन गर्न सक्छौं, हामी पृथ्वीको कति जोखिमपूर्ण क्षेत्रमा अवस्थित छौं। विपद् प्राकृतिक र मानवसिर्जित हुन्छन्, कतिपय विपद्लाई हामी नियन्त्रण गर्न सक्छौं तर भूकम्प जस्ता प्रकोपको सबालमा हामीले क्षति न्यूनीकरण गर्नेभन्दा अरू कुनै उपाय छैन। 

हामीले बनाउने कमजोर संरचना नै मानवीय र अन्य क्षतिका कारक तत्त्व हुन्। अहिले विभिन्न परिवेशलाई दृष्टान्त बनाएर परिस्थिति अझ गम्भीर बनाउने प्रयास भएका छन्। 

ती बिल्कुल गलत कुरा हुन् किनकि विपद्बाट सिर्जित हुने परिस्थिति समय, समाज, चेतना, भौगोलिक अवस्थिति, पूर्वतयारी, राज्यको लगानी, स्रोत र साधनको पर्याप्तता र अन्य कुरामा निर्भर गर्छ। 

नेपाल हाइटी बन्छ भन्नुअगाडि हामीले यो सोच्न जरुरी छ कि नेपाल हाइटी किन बन्छ र विपद् जोखिमका के तत्त्वको प्रभावले हामी यो भनिरहेका छौं? विपद् प्रसार या परावर्तन हुने चीज होइन। त्यसकारण अहिले नेपाली समाजमा देखाउने गरिएको डर धेरैजसो विपद्मा नमिल्न सक्छ। 

विपद्मा भएको क्षतिभन्दा अगाडि हामीले विपद् जोखिम न्यूनीकरणमा कति लगानी गरेका थियौं र कस्तो प्रतिफलको अपेक्षा गरेका थियौं भन्नेहेक्का पनि राख्नुपर्छ। 

नेपालले राष्ट्रपति चुरे तराई-मधेस संरक्षण विकास समिति र जल उत्पन्न प्रकोप नियन्त्रण विभागबाहेक विपद् जोखिम न्यूनीकरणमा उल्लेखनीय लगानी नगरेको देखिन्छ, त्यसैको फलस्वरूप नेपालमा अधिकांश बस्ती जोखिमपूर्ण अवस्थामा रहँदा पनि पर्याप्त ध्यान नपुगेको तथ्यलाई स्वीकार गर्नैपर्छ।

हामीले आफैंले स्वीकार गरेको र लागू गर्ने भनेको ह्योगो फ्रेमवर्क अफ एक्सनमा पनि उपलब्धिका शीर्षक निकै कम छन्, अत: हामीले विपद्का घडीमा भगवान् पुकार गर्नेभन्दा अरू विकल्प पनि बाँकी रहँदैन।

अब नेपालले तत्कालीन र दीर्घकालीन रणनीतिमार्फत जोखिम न्यूनीकरणका क्षेत्रमा पर्याप्त लगानी र उपलब्धिपूर्ण प्रयास गर्न जरुरी छ।

हामीले पुनर्निर्माणको लागि कुनै अरू देशको यो मोडेल या त्यो मोडेलको बहसभन्दा पनि दिगो र स्थानीय स्तरमा सम्भव पुनर्निर्माणको मोडेल विकास गर्न जरुरी छ। हामीले विगतमा गरेका गल्तीले सिर्जित समस्या भुल्नु हँदैन।

हामी जापानी, भारतीय या अन्य युरोपेली मोडेलमा जानुअघि हामीसँग भएका दिगो र आर्थिक हिसाबले उत्तम र सुलभ मोडेलको विकासको अध्ययनमा लाग्न जरुरी छ। 

यसै सिलसिलामा पंक्तिकार गोरखा, तनहुँ र काठमाडौं उपत्यकाका विभिन्न क्षेत्रमा भ्रमण गरी स्थानीय प्रविधि र सांस्कृतिक पुनर्निर्माणको अध्ययनमा संलग्न भइरहँदा स्थानीय प्रविधिको प्रचुर सम्भावना देखेको छ। 

पुराना घरमा काठ प्रयोग भएको क्षेत्रमा भएको न्यून क्षति हेर्ने हो भने अबको पुनर्निर्माणमा अवश्य पनि काठको प्रयोगमाथि विश्वास गर्न सकिन्छ। प्राचीन र सांस्कृतिक सहरहरूको अध्ययनपछि पंक्तिकारले परम्परागत निर्माणमा आधारित ढोका, झ्यालदेखि टुँडालसम्म रहेका तत्त्वले उत्कृष्ट योगदान गरेको देखियो।

 त्यसैगरी परम्परागत हिसाबमा राखिएका र सांस्कृतिक प्रयोगमा आएका काठका बन्धनको पनि योगदान प्रशंसायोग्य रहेको पाइयो, अत: यस्ता सांस्कृतिक प्रयोगमाथि थप खोज अनुसन्धान गरी पर्यटकीय एवं जोखिमप्रतिरोधि प्रयोगमा आउन सक्ने प्रचुर सम्भावना छन्। 

त्यसैगरी, बारपाक आसपासका क्षेत्रमा अवस्थित ढुंगाका घरमा देखिएको कहालीलाग्दो क्षति हेर्ने हो भने पनि अब हामीले परम्परागत हिसाबले गरिने पुनर्निर्माणमा भर पर्न नसक्ने अवस्था छ।

पुनर्निर्माणको बहस गरिरहँदा स्थानीय स्रोत र साधनको उपयोग, प्रविधिको पुनर्ताजगीकरण, क्षमता अभिवृद्धि, आर्थिक भार र सांस्कृतिक मूल्य र मान्यतामाथि विचार पुर्‍याउनुपर्ने हुन्छ।

बारपाक, काठमाडौं, पाटन, भक्तपुर, साँखु, हरिसिद्धिजस्ता सांस्कृतिक सहरको पुनर्निर्माण गर्दा पुन: परम्परागत शैली पछ्याउन जरुरी छ, तर कतिपय यस्ता बस्ती छन्, जुन स्थानान्तरणको व्यग्र प्रतीक्षामा छन्। 

परम्परागत शैली पुनर्निर्माण गर्दा भूकम्पीय र अन्य जोखिमलाई ध्यान दिएर ती जोखिम प्रतिरोधी संरचना निर्माण गर्नुपर्ने हुन्छ। त्यसैगरी आधुनिक पुनर्निर्माणको लागि प्रकोप प्रतिरोधी प्रविधिसहित ठाउँअनुसार फरक किसिमका घर निर्माण गर्नु अत्यावश्यक छ।

पुनर्निर्माण सम्भावना र चुनौती

नेपाल प्राकृतिक स्रोतको हिसाबले धनी मानिन्छ, तराईमा पाइने बाँसदेखि स्थानीय स्तरमा पाइने ढुंगाको उपयोग र व्यवस्थित हिसाबले काठको प्रयोग गरी ग्रामीण नेपालमा पुनर्निर्माण गर्न सकिन्छ। 

सिमेन्ट, बालुवा, छडको प्रयोग दूरदराजमा गर्न गाह्रो छ, तसर्थ स्थानीय स्रोत र साधनको यथेष्ट प्रयोग गरी हावापानी सुहाउँदो र वातावरणमैत्री घर बनाउन सके श्रम र स्रोत उपयोगी बनाउन असम्भव छैन। 

पुनर्निर्माणपूर्व हामीले गर्नैपर्ने भनेको बहुजोखिम पहिचान र ती जोखिमप्रतिरोधी निर्माण प्रक्रियाका विकास हुन्, जसका लागि अहिलेबाटै अध्ययन-अनुसन्धान सुरु गर्न जरुरी छ। 

छरिएर रहेका बस्तीमा सुविधाको वितरणमा निकै ठूलो धनराशि खर्च भएको तथ्य स्वीकार गर्दै अब सुरक्षित ठाउँमा केन्द्रीकृत बस्ती विकास गर्न ढिला गर्नु हुन्न। सेवासुविधाको उपलब्धतासँगै सुरक्षाको पनि प्रत्याभूति हुने हुँदा केन्द्रीकृत बस्ती विस्तारमा जोड दिनुपर्छ। 

अहिले गाउँ-गाउँसम्म खेतबारीदेखि खोला किनारा प्लटिङ गरी बस्ती बसाउने प्रवृत्ति हाबी छ, यस्ता गलत अभ्यास बेलैमा रोक्न नसकेमा भविष्यमा अझै ठूलो क्षतिको सामना गर्न हामी विवश हुनेछौं। 

प्राविधिकको पहुँच गाउँ-गाउँसम्म पुर्‍याई प्रत्यक्ष निगरानीमा हुने निर्माण नै अब हामीसामु रहेको एकमात्र विकल्प हो। आधुनिक घरको पुनर्निर्माण गर्नुअघि हामीसँग भएको भवन निर्माण आचारसंहितालाई पूर्णता दिन जरुरी छ, कम दूरीमै हुने माटोको विभिन्नताले भूकम्पका बेला फरक-फरक व्यवहार देखाउँछ अत: माटोको प्रकार र अवस्थितिअनुरूप फरक प्रकारका घर निर्माण गर्न उपयुक्त हुन्छ। 

२०७२ सालको भूकम्पले आधुनिक शैलीका घरलाई खासै क्षति नगरे पनि विभिन्न असर भने अवश्यै पारेको छ, हामी नयाँ निर्माण मात्र सुरक्षित बनाएर ढुक्क हुने स्थिति भने छैन। भइरहेका संरचनाको सबलीकरण र प्रबलीकरण गर्ने र नयाँ संरचनालाई प्रकोपप्रतिरोधी बनाउन सके मात्र नेपाल सुरक्षित बन्न सक्छ। 

परम्परागत हुन् या आधुनिक घर हुन्, अलिकति समस्या आउनेबित्तिकै भत्काएर नयाँ निर्माण गर्नुपर्छ भन्ने होइन, अहिले बाँकी रहेका संरचनालाई नै पनि सुधार गरेर बस्न मिल्ने यथेष्ट सम्भावना छन्। 

अबको परिवेशमा काठमाडौं उपत्यकाका सांस्कृतिक सम्पदाबाहेक अन्य संरचना पुनर्निर्माण गर्दा इँटाको विकल्प खोज्न जरुरी भइसकेको छ, एक त वातावरणीय कारण यसमा जिम्मेवार छ भने अर्कोतर्फ इँटाभन्दा उपयोगी निर्माण सामग्रीको पनि साथसाथ पहिचान हुन जरुरी छ। 

हामीले सांस्कृतिक पुनर्निर्माण थाल्नुअगाडि बृहत् रूपमा परम्परागत र जनजातीय प्रविधिबारे छलफल गर्नैपर्छ, किनकि जनजातीय प्रविधिभित्र अन्तर्निहित केही उत्कृष्ट प्रयोगले हाम्रा संरचनाको मजबुती र उपयोगितामा अझ योगदान पुर्‍याउनेछन्।

पुनर्निर्माणको मोडल

नेपाली प्राविधिक नेपालका प्रकोपलाई पहिचान गर्न र प्रतिरोधी संरचना निर्माण गर्न आफैं सक्षम छन्, अबको पुनर्निर्माण नेपाली मोडेलको हुनुपर्छ, जहाँ स्थानीय स्रोतदेखि स्थानीय जनजातीय सम्पदाको पूरापूर आवर्तन सम्भव छ। 

विदेशी मोडेलको विकास एउटा अतिकम विकसित राष्ट्रलाई निकै महँगो पर्न जान्छ, अत: नेपाली प्रविधि र स्थानीय स्रोतनिर्भर पुनर्निर्माण मोडेल नै अबको उपयुक्त पुनर्निर्माण मोडेल हो।

विपद् प्रतिकार्य र क्षणिक एवं हठात् पुनर्निर्माणभन्दा पनि दिगो एवं बहुआयामिक पुनर्निर्माणमा ध्यान दिनुपर्छ। 

विकासका गतिविधिलाई अब विपद् प्रतिरोधी र वैज्ञानिक हिसाबले अगाडि लैजान नसकेमा मानवसिर्जित प्रकोपको चपेटाले नेपाललाई अझ रुग्ण बनाउँदै लैजाने अवश्यम्भावी छ। बस्ती विस्तार गर्दा पूर्वसूचना प्रणाली र अत्यावश्यकीय सुविधालाई अझ ध्यान दिन जरुरी छ। 

विपद्का बेला आवश्यक खुला ठाउँ, अस्पताल, दमकल र प्रहरी जस्ता सेवालाई छुट्टै प्रकारका योजना र निर्माण गर्नाले आपत्कालीन प्रतिकार्यलाई अझ चुस्त बनाउन सकिन्छ।

तत्कालीन अभिभारा

वैशाख १२ को भूकम्पपछि हाम्रो प्रतिकार्य र राहत वितरण निकै फितलो देखियो। हतार गरेर अब पुनर्निर्माणमा जानुभन्दा पनि मनसुन सकिन्जेललाई अस्थायी बासस्थानको व्यवस्था गर्नु अत्यावश्यक छ। 

हतार गरेर गरिने पुनर्निर्माणले हामीलाई कहीँ पनि पुर्‍याउँदैन, बरु ठूलो लगानी खेर मात्र जान्छ। पुनर्निर्माण अगाडि हामीले नेपालको बहुप्रकोप नक्सांकन र भूउपयोग नीतिको कार्यान्वयनमा जोड दिनुपर्छ, संरचनागत सुधारका लागि हामीले भवन निर्माण आचारसंहितालाई पूर्णता दिएर नेपालको माटो सुहाउँदो निर्माण प्रविधिको विकास गर्नुपर्छ।

पहिले शोध र अनुसन्धान गर्ने र भएका शोधलाई आधार मानेर अगाडि बढ्नु नै अबको उत्तम बाटो हो। हामीले विगतमा गरेका गल्ती, कमीकमजोरीबाट सिकेर जबाफदेही निर्माण प्रक्रिया, निर्माण सामग्रीको गुणस्तर, कार्यकुशलतासाथै व्यवस्थित बस्ती विस्तारमा ध्यान दिन सकेमा मात्र भविष्यमा हुने प्रकोपसँग जुध्न सकिन्छ।

विपद् जोखिम न्यूनीकरणमा पर्याप्त लगानी गर्न नसकेर हामीले अहिलेको क्षति व्यहोर्नुपरेको हो, ग्रामीण क्षेत्रका बासिन्दादेखि सुविधासम्पन्न सहरिया बासिन्दा सबैलाई सुरक्षित आबासको जरुरी हुन्छ। 

यो तथ्यलाई मध्यनजर गर्दै भविष्यमा हुने क्षति न्यूनीकरण गर्न आबाससम्बन्धी नीति शीघ्र कार्यान्वयन गर्नु आजको आवश्यकता हो। भूकम्प आफैंले क्षति नगर्ने भएकाले हामीले भूकम्पप्रतिरोधी निर्माण गर्न सकेमा भूकम्पबाट डराउने स्थिति रहँदैन। 

अबका संरचना भूकम्पप्रतिरोधी मात्र बनाउनुभन्दा पनि बहुप्रकोपीय जोखिमप्रतिरोधी बनाउन सकेमा स्थानीयदेखि राष्ट्रिय तहसम्म र क्षेत्रगत हिसाबमा छरिएर रहेका आम जोखिमबाट बच्न सकिन्छ।

विकास र विपद् जोखिम न्यूनीकरणलाई साथसाथै लैजान नसक्दा हाम्रो पूर्वतयारी र लगानी बालुवामा पानीसरह भएको छ, अब विकास र विपद्लाई साथसाथ लैजान जरुरी छ।

[This op-ed piece was originally published by Annapurna Post as: http://archive.annapurnapost.com/News.aspx/story/12678 ]

Chasing the Churia

Last September, after a number of strikes and sit-ins, the government allowed miners in the Churia region to carry on resume their business, which the state had put a halt to in order to preserve the region in the face of mass exploitation. So, it is time to analyse just how much of Churia’s resources are to be exploited and what should be the commercial limit. The government, stakeholders, and the public have not stepped into this debate and thus, dormant policies and unrestricted access continues.

The overexploitation of natural resources has induced severe environmental, hydro-geological, and livelihood problems in the Churia hills and the Tarai. Given the number of frequent landslides, balding terrain, flash floods, slope failures, and biodiversity loss, the unrestricted and haphazard encroachment of stone, gravel, and sand needs a rethink.

Overly exploited

Running east to west, Churia is constituted by 33 districts and segregated from the inner Tarai in the south and Mahabharat in the north. Churia covers about 33 percentage of total land and is characterised by soft unconsolidated rocks that are relatively young. Such rocks are the governing factors for the fragility of geological setups. As this range was covered by dense forest with few public interventions and agricultural expansions before 1990, resource depletion and disasters were infrequent. After the restoration of democracy, population concentration in the Tarai region and expansion towards the ‘charkose jhadi’ became crucial threats to the Churia region.

Recently, fresh debates have started regarding the prioritisation of local peoples to local resources, as per the ILO 169 convention. However, settlements in the Churia range must be identified before assuring such rights, as it is clear that most people there are recent settlers. The next challenge is the encroachment of resources by neighbours, mostly from the inner Tarai. Timber, sand, and gravel smuggling at night have become more frequent after the end to the conflict. Most mines nowadays are exploiting resources out of the periphery allocated to them. In addition, as Churia is the recharge hub for annual precipitation and has thick forest cover, infiltration

is promoted rather than surface runoff, preventing flooding and assuring groundwater for

communities downstream.  

Though sand and gravel mining are revenue sources for the state and the backbone of infrastructure development at the national level, present encroachment has overrun revenue generation in terms of severe environmental, livelihoods, and hydro-geological costs. Every District Development Committee has the right to approve of mining areas; however, due to poor monitoring and inefficient planning the Tarai, Churia, and the Lower Himalayas are under severe threat of disasters. Surely, revenue generation has been overshadowed by budgetary allocation for response and relief after major disasters like floods, droughts, and landslides. The failure of monitoring mechanisms is only facilitating the degradation of the Churia.

Judicious use

While accounting for the Churia’s survival, the government needs to account for the communities residing in this region while declaring the entire area a protected zone wherein only identified and mandated mining can be performed. Present-day malicious mining and timber smuggling must be stopped. For this, effective policies and plans must

be developed through the President’s Churia Tarai-Madhes  Conservation and Development Committee by formulating specific policies for Churia, as this region has been made very fragile by anthropogenic interventions. Integrated actions are urgently needed from the government to protect the entire Churia range as present programmes have not been effective.

Participatory Churia management is the ultimate solution to assure survival as most resources are smuggled by outliers and farming intervention is widespread among locals. The Churia region is a common hub for displaced people and squatters. The encroachment dynamics relies on the livelihoods of such people. Churia should be completely avoided as a region for settlement and people illegally residing there should be resettled elsewhere.

Policies and planning, proper enforcement of law and order, monitoring and handling of resources to effective management would contribute to preserving natural resources and ensuring sustainable use. Churia could face a vicious cycle of disasters and such disasters could ultimately propagate to the rest of Nepal as well. In this regard, Churia should undoubtedly be protected wherein controlled mining can be allowed and anthropogenic interventions avoided. There must be lucid formulation regarding Churia conservation in legal framework and mining should be conducted under optimal utility frameworks only. In order to secure better habitats for flora and fauna across Nepal, maintain ecosystems, and preserve lives and livelihood, the Churia range must be protected.

[This op-ed piece was originally published by The Kathmandu Post on 09 February 2015 as: http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2015-02-09/chasing-the-churia.html#.VOIkKkeraYo.google_plusone_share ]