Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi has said the post-quake rebuilding has not progressed as expected.

He said this while addressing a seminar on 'Assessing Earthquake Disaster in Nepal – Lessons from the Gorkha Earthquake' organised by the Department of Mines and Geology with financial support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) here today coinciding with the second anniversary of the Gorkha Earthquake.

The Industry Minister said that the government has started preparations for acquiring construction materials from the industries at a cheaper rate for the post-quake reconstruction.

Secretary at the Ministry, Shankar Prasad Koirala said that the devastating Gorkha Earthquake has taught us to build strong structures.

Member of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr. Chandra Kanta Poudel said the budget for the forthcoming fiscal year has placed reconstruction in high priority.

Ambassador of Japan to Nepal Mashashi Ogawa suggested that Nepal could learn from the experience of reconstruction from his country as Japan is a country where earthquakes occur frequently. He added that Japan was positive to extend cooperation for Nepal's reconstruction.

Director General at the Department Rajendra Prasad Khanal said the Government of Japan has extended big support at the time of the earthquake and in setting up seismological centres. He expected that this cooperation would be continued in the coming days as well.

In the seminar, seismologists from Nepal, Bhutan, Japan among other countries will share experiences on disaster preparedness, alertness to be adopted and reconstruction in their respective countries at times of earthquake. RSS