Kumbharaj Rai

Shortage of trained masons and carpenters has delayed the post-earthquake reconstruction works in Okhaldhunga district. 

The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has signed housing aid agreement with 20,165 quake-affected families in the district. Of those families, according to the Urban Development and Building Division Office, only 2,342 have begun reconstruction of their homes.

Yubaraj Kharel, chief of the District Coordinating Committee of the NRA, said that there are only 700 trained workers in the district, which is far short from the number of workers required to rebuild the earthquake-damaged houses. “If we consider the number of earthquake-affected households, there’s a need of at least 5,000 workers in Okhaldhunga,” said Kharel. “The shortage of workers has delayed the rebuilding process.”
Though the District Development Committee, Cottage and Small Scale Industry and Skill Development, among others, have been providing mason and carpentry trainings, Okhaldhunga is in need of a far too many skilled workers than these organisations can produce. 

Fifty-one engineers have been mobilised in the district to oversee the reconstruction works. More than 18,000 families have already withdrawn the first tranche of the housing aid from their bank accounts while 211 families have filed applications at the NRA office, asking for the second batch of the aid.  

Published on: 25 February 2017 | The Kathmandu Post