ASIA/NEPAL - Six months after the earthquake, the country is still a multicoloured patchwork of temporary tarpaulins

Charikot (Agenzia Fides) - Six months after a massive earthquake devastated Nepal, people are still living in temporary shelters as political wrangling has prevented the disbursement of billions between April and May pledged by international donors for reconstruction. According to information from local sources, aid organisations are urging the government to activate the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), created to formulate quake-resistant building regulations and oversee the allocation of funds. The government appointed a chief executive officer to the NRA in August, but he has been unable to start reconstruction work, because Parliament failed to pass a bill to launch the agency. The government has instead been embroiled in crisis. Protests against a new constitution erupted on the Indian border, blocking fuel imports, while political parties refused to agree on the terms of the reconstruction bill. The earthquakes killed close to 9,000 people and destroyed or damaged almost a million homes. Instead of sturdy buildings under construction, rural Nepal is a multicoloured patchwork of supposedly temporary tarpaulins. The district of Dolakha, which was at the epicentre of the 25 April quake, is no exception. People have had to construct shelters from materials they could salvage and those distributed by aid agencies. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 20/10/2015)

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