The government has expressed its commitment to build back safer and disaster-resilient housing structures in the coming days.

Addressing the 14th international symposium on “New Technology for Urban Safety of Megacities in Asia” in the Capital on Thursday, Industry Minister Som Prasad Pandey said the government is working to rebuild earthquake-devastated buildings in a safer and better ways to mitigate future disaster risks. Since the April earthquake this year, the Ministry of Urban Development and other concerned authorities are working with development partners and technical institutions to strengthen earthquake-resilient measures, including formulation of stringent building construction by-laws, trainings on earthquake-resistant building structures and retrofitting technology, to ensure safety of buildings and people living in them. The two-day symposium is being held to share experiences on urban disaster safety and environmental management across the countries in the world and promote interactions among scientists, researchers, academics and decision makers, according to the National Society for Earthquake Technology, one of the organisers.

Around 250 participants, including scientists, planners, policy makers, technical experts and researchers, from eight countries are attending the symposium that will discuss various topics ranging from disaster risk management, urban planning to

environmental management.