REEPORTS OF QUAKE DAMAGE

QUAKE KILLS SEVEN, INJURES HUNDREDS





Kathmandu, 20 Sept.: As the loss from Sunday’s earthquake is being ascertained, Nepal Police Monday confirmed that tremors measuring 6.8 in the Richter scale took seven lives across the country, The Rising Nepal reports.
Out of the seven deceased, three were killed in Kathmandu, two in Sunsari and one each in Dhankuta, Shakhuwasava and Jhapa.
Of the 20 critically injured, 14 were in Kathmandu, three in Taplejung and one each in Bhaktapur, Dharan and Kavre.
Similarly, 92 were wounded, according to the spokesperson of Nepal Police Binod Singh
In Bhakatpur, a woman died due to heart attack and 22 people were injured while trying to run out of their houses.
Lila Poudel, 65, of Gatthaghar got a heart attack after the tremors.
According to hospital sources, 17 people, mostly women and children, were admitted for treatment after the quake. Five of them were still receiving treatment at the Bhaktapur hospital.
In Kathmandu, the hospitals provided treatment to about 200 people. However, Bir Hospital, Teaching Hospital and Patan Hospital were not well prepared for the emergency response.
Some 60 injured people were admitted in the TU Teaching Hospital and 50 in Patan Hospital.
The Disaster Management Division said that some 1500 people were injured across the country.
In Ilam, 200 houses were damaged. According to Singh, six houses in Taplejung and two in Lumjung were damaged entirely.
In Shankhuwasabha, the quake claimed one life and damaged a dozen houses.
Sandeep Rai, 7, of Num-1 died after being trapped inside the house. Similarly, the quake damaged the communication building and weapons storage facility of the District Police Office as well as the building of Rastriya Banijya Bank, Khandbari branch.
In Sunsari, Meenadevi Mehata and Rambadevi Mehata of Inaruwa-7 fainted in panic, and were hospitalised. Bijay Shah, the Health Assistant at emergency ward of Inaruwa Hospital, said that they returned after treatment.
Panick-stricken people rushed out of homes and stayed outside for a long time fearing aftershocks. Many did not sleep well at night.
In Ilam, the earthquake completely destroyed two hundred houses, most of which saw their walls ruptured.
Chief District Officer (CDO) of Ilam Janak Raj Regmi said that even though the damage reports of the entire district were yet to be

received, the preliminary data showed that hundreds of houses were damaged by the earthquake.
"We came to know that forty houses were completely destroyed in Barbote VDC alone. We have been getting reports of destruction from other VDCs as well. The buildings of Cooperative Division Office, District Administration Office, and Agriculture Development Office have also ruptured due to the powerful tremor," informed Regmi.
The displaced are compelled to stay outside in the open sky. More than two hundred people registered their names in Red Cross Society and District Administration Office, Ilam, seeking relief and the number was continuing to grow.
Chairman of Red Cross Society Ilam Indra Fuyal said that currently there were only plastic sheets, clothes and blankets to be provided.
The emergency meeting of the District Administration Office decided to distribute the relief packages immediately.
In Syangja, tremors damaged five houses, including a two storied house in Darsing Dahathum-9 and four houses in Sworekh-7, Bahakot and Dyangkot VDCs and Putalibazaar.
In Makawanpur, two people were hurt and eight houses were damaged. Sandeep Poudel of Hetauda-4 and Susheela Dahal of Hetauda-6 were reported injured.
In Dharan, people blamed the negligence in abiding by the building codes as leading to loss of lives and property.
Santosh BK, 22, and his son Bimal BK, 8, were killed. They were permanent residents of Okhaldhunga and rented a room in Dharan.
Kamal Pariyar who is working as a tailor at the Eastern Military Boarding School of Furse and his wife Dila Pariyar were injured in the incident.
Local residents and army personnel of Furse camp rescued the Pariyars from the debris of bridges and metal wares.
The injured were being treated in the BP Koirala Foundation.
According to the house owner Kumar Man Shrestha, the house had developed cracks during the earthquake of 2045 BS and it was repaired later.
Shrestha said that although he was informed about the quake resistant building code of conduct, he did not take the risk as seriously.
The Dharan Municipality implemented the code of conduct in 2065 BS.
In Kakarbhitta of Jhapa, quake killed a paralysed child, Aaiha Ghimire, 5, and damaged a dozen houses.
Mechi Municipality of Jhapa was also damaged.
Officer Narayankaji Shrestha was injured when he jumped off the building and was admitted in Om Shai Hospital of Bhadrapur for treatment.
Similarly, one of the old Buddha Monasteries was fully damaged and other six hotels and houses were damaged.
The jail of Jhapa was also damaged due to the powerful earthquake, said Khagendra Giri, Chief of Prison.
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EXTENSIVE CRACKS IN HANUMAM DHOKA DURBAR FOLLOWING SUNDAY’S QUAKE

Kathmandu, 20 Sept.: Following Sunday’s devastating earthquake, the Hanuman Dhoka durbar has been damaged heavily by cracks.
The surroundings have been scarred, Jitendra Shah reports in Kantipur.
Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Museum Development Committee said 15 big cracks have scarred the durbar; there are many smaller cracks.
Tribhuvan Museum, with the throne and arms and ammunition sections, between Gaddi Baithak and nine-storied durbar, has been damaged the most.
‘The earthquake has weakened the durbar further,” said member-secretary Sharashwori Singh has been further. “The durbar gate has tilted.”
It will be difficult to maintain the unique character of the palace.
“Last year the roof was reconstructed and wood replaced. If that was not done, the durbar would have collapsed,” she said.
The Panchamukhi Hanuman temple north of Nasal Chowk has also been damaged.
Temples around the durbar complex have also been damaged.
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PARASI MAOISTS AGAINST RETURNOF SEIZED LANDS

Kathmandu, 20 Sept.: Despite Unified CPN-Maoist central leadership’s pledge to return the property seized during the armed conflict to the rightful owners, local Maoist leaders in Nawalparasi say they will rather challenge the leadership than return the seized land, The Himalayan Times reports from Parasi.

Around 300 bighas of land confiscated during insurgency is still in Maoist clutches.

But, whether to return the land or not also has become an issue for a hot debate among the local Maoist leaders.

Those close to Vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya are against returning the land and property and others, who toe the line of Prime Minister Bhattarai and Chairman Pushpa Kamal

Dahal, are pressing for return, saying ‘that will help conclude the peace process’.

Deputy chairman of All Nepal Peasant Association-Revolutionary, Nawalparasi, Nilakantha Khanal said they would not let the party return the seized property. “A tripartite deal is going to be made in the name of consensus and cooperation for the return of property, but we will object to

it,” said Khanal, demanding that the seized assets be distributed among the squatters. “The

decision to return the seized property, which is now being occupied by the kin of martyrs, injured and the displaced, will be injustice to them.”

However, Maoist district co-in-charge Moti Rijal, who sides with Dahal-Bhattarai camp, said, “Returning the seized property in keeping with the party’s decision will help create a conducive environment for the conclusion of peace and the constitution-drafting processes.”

According to Acting CDO Pradip Jyoti Shrestha, though the land of some 15 persons is now under Maoist control, only nine persons have approached the district administration office seeking return of their property.
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MEDIA GOOGLE

“Maoists must be isolated for peace and constitution. UML, which supported Maoists, has now understood its real intentions.”

(NC Vice-president Ram Chandra Paudel, Kantipur, 20 Sept.)
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