Kathmandu. Chairman of this program, Honorable Deputy Prime Minister, Honorable Ministers, leaders and officials holding various responsibilities, ambassadors from various countries and all friends present here, sisters and brothers!
Today we are remembering a sad day, a sad hour after ten years. On this day, i.e. on Baisakh 12th at 11:56 am, a devastating earthquake struck Gorkha’s Barpak district. It caused huge loss of life and property. At this time, I pay my respects to those who lost their lives in that sudden natural disaster.
At that time, there was also a huge loss of property. Which we have successfully rebuilt and Nepal is resilient after an earthquake or this society is resilient, we have shown through successful works that resilience is its specialty. I want to remember the tragic incident of that day and it was a tragic time for the entire Nepali community or everyone who was in Kathmandu at that time. The subsequent aftershocks created a tragic state of mind in everyone. It made people unable to sleep well, unable to eat, always scared when staying indoors, the aftershocks would come again in a terrible way, which created an atmosphere of fear for months. Which is still a sad, tragic and even a mental state that can ruin people’s health, even now, remembering the terrible situation, we still have an unpleasant feeling in our hearts.
Our country is subject to all kinds of natural disasters, disasters from the ground, disasters from water, disasters from fire, all disasters from the wind. There was such a tragic situation when a terrible earthquake occurred from the ground, which destroyed more than 900,000 structures, killing more than 9,000 people. Many of our archaeological, historical, and religious heritages were damaged. Similarly, sometimes storms destroy crops, sometimes destroy houses. We suffer according to the weather. We suffer a lot from water. Sometimes extraordinary floods come and that heavy rain causes landslides and floods, which destroy roads, wash away houses, wash away farms, destroy and wash away bridges, and we have had to endure many kinds of disasters from it. It is hot. Sometimes there are arson incidents. Sometimes there are forest fires, sometimes there are village fires.
We have also had to bear the pain of this. We are exposed to natural disasters from fire, wind, water, land and from all sides. What we have seen is that no matter how resilient we are, the economic situation of our nation, our budget, and our capacity cannot rebuild something like the 2072 BS earthquake. Therefore, we need to first prepare structures that will not be damaged by it, build structures or houses that will not collapse in an earthquake. We cannot wait until it collapses. If our houses are in the mountains, they are made of loose stones, mud mixed with unmixed stones, and the walls are so thick that if it shakes even a little, it collapses. Fortunately, some such houses still remain.
We ourselves, every person, should pay attention to how to make our houses safe. Wherever, iron is used, wherever wood is used, wherever cement is used, wherever sand is used, if such non-breakable structures, non-breakable materials are used, if we build them in advance, then a sudden terrible situation, loss of life, life and property, the terrible loss in everything, that situation may not arise. That is why we replaced thatched roofs in the mountains with zinc sheets. Because fire should not be allowed to spread. At least zinc sheets do not spread as quickly as thatched roofs, and if they do, they can be extinguished and extinguished. That is why we have taken forward these programs. In the Terai, we have implemented the Janata Awas program to replace small thatched huts, huts, and houses that cannot be called homes.
In some places, due to reasons such as lack of land title deeds, we must continue to adjust the conditions and make legal provisions easier. The government should decide where such integrated settlements are to be built, where the Janata Awas program is to be carried out. Such places should be carried out with structures that protect them from natural disasters. We must resolve the legal and practical obstacles, barriers, and obstacles in this regard.
The main thing is preparedness for natural disasters. I would like to tell the National Disaster Mitigation and Management Authority to emphasize preparedness so that such damage does not occur in advance. After the earthquake, instead of rebuilding the house after it collapses and kills people, let’s start the path of dispersing the house before the house collapses, before the people are killed, before the little property is destroyed. Gradually, we will build a safe Nepal through this path. We can also build a safe Nepal from natural disasters. Earthquakes occur not only in our country, but also in various countries. Devastating earthquakes like ours also end, but the earthquakes pass without causing any damage. Because the structures there are in accordance with that.
In other countries, there are no sea storms or other types of disasters from the sea in our country. We do not have sea disasters. There are rivers with water, lakes, glaciers that can explode, like what happened in Thame. Such things can also be solved by addressing the problems of climate change. Another thing, even if something happens to a settlement with such glaciers, care should be taken to ensure that such settlements are not damaged downstream. This time, people were able to escape because it was in the afternoon, and because it was in the afternoon, the loss of life and property was reduced.
If it had happened at night instead of in the afternoon, if the earthquake on 12th Baisakh 2072 had happened at night or on a holiday, it would have caused extraordinary destruction. However, at 11:56 PM, it was a Saturday, a holiday, so the damage was reduced. Therefore, we cannot choose such a time. Therefore, if we cannot make such a time, we must adopt a method that will keep us safe at any time. We have shown an extraordinary capacity for reconstruction in such a situation. The efforts made by our security agencies, organizations and our people in the rescue work at that time are extraordinary and commendable.
I still want to remember that and I want to praise them. I want to praise the extraordinary contribution that the security agencies have made. Similarly, in the reconstruction work and from the relief work or the rescue work itself, the hands of friendship and hands of support that our friends, our allies extended in difficult situations, saying that we are with them, are extraordinary, memorable or unforgettable. I would like to thank my friends for that. In the reconstruction work, we would probably not have been able to do those things in such a short time with our own efforts. Our own efforts would not have been enough. We would have been in a very difficult situation, but I would like to thank all our friendly countries and organizations for their extraordinary support, their extraordinary readiness, and their extraordinary friendship towards Nepal and the Nepali people. For this, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone and express my gratitude.
When the earthquake struck, we were at the end of the constitution-making process. We had a very bitter experience. A Constituent Assembly had completed its four-year term and failed to pass the constitution. After much effort, overcoming many difficulties, and overcoming many obstacles, we had moved towards the final stage of constitution-making with firm determination. The earthquake struck at that time. When we were at the end of the constitution-making process and the common aspiration of our nation to promulgate the constitution, we wanted to prevent the same thing from happening again, and we were determined not to let it happen again under any circumstances.
The Constituent Assembly had to give the constitution, while we were standing firm, while we were gathering, it was not very unnatural for interest groups to arise, for interest groups to advance their own interests during the constitution-making process, for interests to conflict, for interests to clash. We had to resolve those things. At that time, a major earthquake suddenly struck. Which turned the situation in Nepal in a different direction. I would like to thank the understanding of the political parties of Nepal, at that time, without saying party or opposition, the way in which unity was maintained and a sense of national unity was demonstrated from all sides that we should all face this disaster and move forward together in the work of constitution-making, I would like to remember that and I would also like to thank all parties for that. Our unity should be seen in the same way. National unity is essential in national questions, in questions of national interest or in such important questions. Similarly, our national unity should be mandatory in matters of good governance and development.
There is competition in democracy. Competition should be carried forward through health and truth-based health. Criticism is welcome and should be welcomed. But criticism should be based on truth, facts, and constructive criticism, not based on lies, untruth, and misleading and destructive, not one that divides and divides Nepali society. It should be one that unites in national unity. We should pay attention to this.
Therefore, I would like to thank everyone and for such things, we always highly appreciate national unity and international cooperation, assistance, and support and say that such things should happen in the coming days as well. I would like to express my sympathy once again to all the victims. I would like to wish the injured at that time a speedy recovery, and now we have paid the same attention and should pay attention to the earthquake-related matters later. I would like to conclude my remarks by thanking the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Nepal Earthquake Authority for organizing the program.
(Speech delivered by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at the Earthquake Memorial Day program on 12 Baisakh, 2082)
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्