Following the 2015 Nepal earthquake, more than 70 per cent reconstruction of houses in the quake-hit region have been completed which were being constructed through Indian aid, the United Nations office for project services (UNOPS) and the United Nations development programme (UNDP) has on Friday reported.
In April 2015, an earthquake measuring 7.8 magnitudes had jolted Kathmandu, Nepal, leaving more than 9,000 people dead, flattering several buildings and structures, including Dharahara Tower in the capital.
Following this natural disaster, Nepal’s close neighbour India pledged to provide financial assistance worth USD one billion to Nepal for reconstruction in the country in the forms of lines of credit and grants.
Out of USD one billion, USD 150m had been allocated for the reconstruction operation in the housing sector, USD 50m was to be drawn as a line of credit, and USD 100m as grants, according to ANI news reports.
The reconstruction of some 50,000 houses in Nuwakot and Gorkha districts of Nepal was undertaken by India. The Indian authorities appointed UNOPS and UNDP as socio-technical facilitation consultants for both Nuwakot and Gorkha respectively last year in March.
“In Gorkha district, we have been giving support to 26,912 beneficiaries as part of the India aided project. Among them, 70 per cent of the beneficiaries have constructed their house, 20 per cent are under construction and 10 per cent are yet to be constructed,” Ram Sapkota, the district coordinator for the Government of India-supported Nepal Housing Reconstruction Project Gorkha told ANI.