Repair of physical structures damaged by Jenji agitation in Bagmati Province in final stage

Kathmandu. Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development of Bagmati Province, Dr. KATHMANDU — Dinesh Chandra Devkota has carried out an onsite monitoring of the physical infrastructures and maintenance of government offices in the province that were damaged during the ‘Genji’ agitation.

On Tuesday, Minister Dr. A team led by Devkota inspected the five-storey building of 4 ministries in Hetauda, the residence of the Chief Secretary of Bagmati Province and other damaged buildings. Ministry Secretary Ishwor Chandra Marhattha and Chief of Urban Development and Building Construction Division Bhupendra Kumar Yadav were also in the inspection team.

Talking to media persons during the inspection, Minister Dr. Devkota said that structural engineer from Kathmandu has been brought in for technical assessment of the buildings damaged by the agitation and reconstruction has been started on the basis of that. He said that the construction of the building which can be used after repairing it has reached the final stage.

“In a short span of 5-6 months, a lot of work has been done in a short span of 5-6 months with the cooperation of the contractor and the ministry’s team,” said Devkota, adding, “Discussions are underway with the Ministry of Finance regarding how to reconstruct the old building of the Province Assembly Hall and the Urban Development and Building Office in Makwanpur.” ’

Bhupendra Kumar Yadav, chief of Urban Development and Building Division, said that the renovation of buildings of four ministries including Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, Ministry of Labour and Transport, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Ministry of Water Supply, Energy and Irrigation, Ministry of Social Development, Chief Secretary’s residence and Provincial Assembly Secretariat (block ‘B’ and ‘C’) at Hetauda Sub-metropolis-1 have reached the final stage. The ministry aims to complete the repair work by mid-April.

The Ministry of Finance had allocated Rs 6.24 crore for the reconstruction of the building. “The construction work has reached the final stage after signing the contract for Rs 39.5 million,” Yadav said, adding, “We are handing over five buildings within a week and 15 days.” ’

According to the Ministry, the office buildings under the province which can be repaired and used immediately with a small budget have been repaired and brought into operation by the office itself. Secretary at the Ministry, Ishwar Chandra Marhattha, said that preparations are underway to bring service delivery back to normal with the repair of physical infrastructures nearing the final phase. According to him, the under-repaired main building will be managed by the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Water Supply and Energy, Ministry of Agriculture and Transport.

During the Gen-G movement, property worth Rs 901.91 million was damaged to the offices, buildings, vehicles and goods under the Bagmati Province government. According to the preliminary information provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning, 26 provincial government offices and 60 buildings in Kathmandu, Chitwan, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Makwanpur were damaged in the floods.

The flood has damaged three buildings of two offices in Kathmandu, 10 buildings of three offices in Chitwan, two buildings of one office in Bhaktapur, 40 buildings of 17 offices in Makwanpur and 5 buildings of three offices in Lalitpur.

Similarly, 142 two-wheelers and 53 four-wheelers were damaged while goods worth Rs 204 million were damaged. A team comprising two experts from Kathmandu led by the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development had made a technical assessment of the buildings of various ministries, provincial assembly halls, offices and agencies in Hetauda. A team of technicians had inspected 11 damaged buildings using modern equipment and found 10 buildings unfit for immediate use.

The damaged buildings have been categorized into three categories: ‘green’, ‘yellow’ that can be used after repairs and completely unsafe and ‘red’ that needs to be reconstructed.