Barpak. A hamlet on a hilltop in the northern part of Gorkha on April 25, 2015 got violently rattled. Otherwise a calm village, Barpak on that afternoon was a theatre of chaos. It was the epicentre of the 7.9-magnitude  earthquake—the country’s worst natural disaster since 1934. Most of the houses in the village were destroyed. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Barpak as the epicentre was the focus of attention. 

A year on, Barpak is still in ruins. Not much has changed for those who survived the disaster. 

The government-announced reconstruction aid is yet to reach the villagers.

Earthquake survivors, who last year endured torrential rains during monsoon and sub-zero temperatures during winter under flimsy structures made up of tarpaulin and zinc sheets, say just a thought about monsoon gives them shivers. 

After waiting for long for the government aid to arrive, the quake survivors decided to take matters into own hands and have started building houses on their own. 

“We waited for the government help to build a house almost for a year. For how long can we wait?” said Om Bahadur Ghale of Barpak. As many as 20 families have started constructing new houses in Barpak only recently. 

According to records at the District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC), around 30 percent of houses have been reconstructed in Barpak. 

Many quake survivors in several other VDCs of Gorkha have also started building houses for the fear that they might have to spend yet another monsoon under the shaky structures. 

Chief District Officer (CDO) Narayan Bhatta informed that locals have reconstructed around 30 percent of houses in Barpak. 

Min Gurung, a hotelier, said some may have constructed houses on their own, but the poor are still waiting for government aid to arrive. 

Sabina Dhital of Chhoprak-6, whose house was destroyed in the quake, said delay in reconstruction work has led villagers to build houses on their own. 

“We took loan to build a house as the concerned authorities failed to provide support,” said Dhital. “We built the house to save us from monsoon rains,” said Dhital.

Victims of Laprak, another quake-hit VDC, also have repaired their quake-ravaged houses. 

“As the reconstruction work has been delayed, many quake victims have repaired houses to protect themselves from monsoon rains,” said Ganesh Gurung, chairman of the Laprak Reconstruction Committee. 

The National Reconstr-uction Authority has just started distributing housing aid from Hansapur VDC. 

When the country commemorates the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake on Sunday, Barpak locals will be focusing on how to save themselves from monsoon rains.