Editorial: Follow the building code – The Himalayan Times – Nepal English Daily No. 1

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Nepal is one of those countries most prone to natural disasters, from earthquakes and floods to landslides and even now wildfires. The loss of life and destruction that it causes to property is enormous, as we have seen in recent times. The devastating Gorka earthquake in 2015 revealed how vulnerable poorly built structures are to such a natural disaster, which destroyed more than 800,000 homes and monuments in a short time. More recently, with the onset of the monsoon rains in mid-June, floods and landslides, caused by continuous heavy rains, wiped out entire settlements in Milamchi and Manang, displacing tens of thousands of people and leaving them without a home and no livelihood. . While natural disasters cannot be completely prevented, their impact can be mitigated, if we are more careful while constructing buildings and infrastructure. Against the background of such impending disasters, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Public Administration has written to all local levels to strictly enforce the national building code and standards during housing construction.

The Building Code, as mandated by the Ministry of Urban Development and Building Construction, prohibits building homes near rivers and streams and in areas prone to disasters caused by rain, such as floods, landslides, and floods. Building code and standards are nothing new, but have never been applied, with little or no oversight and control by technicians and engineers for building design and construction.

There is talk of its strict implementation only when a disaster strikes, as in the case of the Gorka earthquake or the Melamchi and Manang disaster. The ministry’s directive also calls on local levels to ensure that the building’s design scheme promotes local architecture, ancient art and culture. This is just as important as building a solid home as towns, large and small, and rural landscapes lose their aesthetic appeal as haphazard urbanization causes riots.

Nepal is sure to witness more natural disasters in the coming years, especially with climate change becoming more and more evident with each passing year. Given Nepal’s fragile terrain, the way caution is thrown into the wind during the construction of buildings and infrastructure such as roads and bridges, it’s a disaster in the making. It seems that the local levels, with the massive money at their disposal, are very happy to build roads with large machines like bulldozers by cutting down steep hillsides. The government should stop the indiscriminate construction of roads in rural areas as they are said to be a major cause of landslides in the hills and flooding in the plains.

With land prices rising to the surface all over the country even in rural areas, there is a tendency to build multi-storey buildings even if not supported by soil, posing a threat to the surrounding environment in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake.

Only if the government had the political will to enforce the building code and the people were willing to abide by it, could everyone stay safe even when disaster struck.

railway service deal

The industrialists and business community of Nepal welcomed the signing of the 2004 India-Nepal Railway Services Agreement. Nepal and India signed a Letter of Exchange (LoE) to this effect on Friday. This agreement will greatly help in reducing the time and cost of transportation as it has allowed Nepalese merchants to use the Indian Railways service network.

With the entry into force of the LoE, all authorized freight train operators, including public and private container train operators, motor freight train operators, private freight train operators or any other operator authorized by Indian Railways, will be permitted to use the rail network for container transportation. Nepal and other shipments – bilateral, between Nepal and India, or a third country from Indian ports to Nepal. This will increase efficiency and cost competitiveness, which will benefit merchants, carriers and ultimately consumers. Now, the Government of Nepal must not delay in operating the Jayanagar-Janakpur Railway service. The government has not yet announced when the country’s only rail service will start operating.

Janakpur could develop as a major commercial center if railway service comes into full operation.

A version of this article was published in the print edition on July 12, 2021, from The Himalayan Times.

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