Miscellaneous
29,493 families to get retrofitting grant
The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has identified 29,493 households as eligible beneficiaries of retrofitting grant.The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has identified 29,493 households as eligible beneficiaries of retrofitting grant. According to the authority, 24,368 households from the 14 districts worst hit by the earthquake and 5,125 from 18 districts having relatively less impact are eligible for the government support.
The NRA aims to complete the retrofitting of houses damaged by the earthquake by next March, NRA Information Officer Manohar Ghimire said. In a recent meeting, stakeholders involved in the reconstruction and rehabilitation works, including the NRA, the Ministry of Urban Development, had decided to accelerate the retrofitting process along with the rebuilding of private houses.
The government has announced that it would disburse Rs100,000 for retrofitting of houses impacted by the Gorkha Earthquake.
Retrofitting is an innovative and cost-effective method of strengthening the existing houses partially damaged by the earthquake.
The technology strengthens their structural elements and stabilises the current structure, making them earthquake resilient.
According to the NRA, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the Department for International Development (DFID) have agreed to carry on with retrofitting activities in the earthquake-affected districts for the next two years. The two agencies have also appointed Build Change, an INGO, to conduct required activities in the field.
The NRA had approved the retrofitting design submitted by the Build Change for stone masonry buildings in mud mortar on June 4, 2017. As per the agreement, the Build Change will train 2,000 engineers and 12,000 masons in retrofitting over the next two years.
Likewise in April 2017, the Ministry of Urban Development published a set of guidelines for retrofitting of buildings specifying standard procedures for retrofitting different kinds of buildings. The manual contains different retrofitting measures for adobe, masonry and reinforced-cement-concrete structures.