A fortnight on, Nepal struggles to cope
KATHMANDU: Quake-ravaged Nepal faces a herculean task in coming weeks and months to literally rise from the rubble. A fortnight since the earthquake measuring 7.9 on Richter scale struck killing nearly 8,000, Nepal is struggling to cope with immensity of the disaster and thousands still await basic necessities.
The figures given out by Nepal government and various UN agencies paint a disturbing picture. Over 3.5 million people are in need of food assistance. Of them, around 1.4 million have been categorised and World Food Programme needs $116.5 million to feed them for the next three months.
Over 200,000 pregnant and lactating women and 362,000 children below five years of age, who are suffering from moderate to severe malnutrition, are in need of nutrition support.
The quake destroyed nearly 289,000 houses and damaged over 254,000 others. But till Friday only 70,000 tarpaulins, 11,624 household kits and nearly 6,000 tents had been distributed.
18 hydro power projects with capacity to generate nearly 180 MW were affected. It has hit power generation in a country where there is a perpetual power crisis. Recovery will take at least six months. Over 3,500 schools in the 14 worst affected districts also suffered in the quake. Nearly 22,000 classrooms were either destroyed or damaged.
Meanwhile, Nepal’s political parties, which are at loggerheads over details of the country’s new constitution, came together on Saturday to agree on a relief package for the affected.