This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/13/world/asia/as-snow-creeps-down-from-himalayas-nepal-reconstruction-stalls.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| As Snow Creeps Down From Himalayas, Nepal Reconstruction Stalls | As Snow Creeps Down From Himalayas, Nepal Reconstruction Stalls |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| MANEBHANJYANG, Nepal — On a steep slope in the foothills of the Himalayas one recent afternoon, Omnath Timilsena surveyed what remains of his earthquake-ravaged village in Nepal. By Mr. Timilsena’s estimate, four-fifths of the buildings were flattened or damaged beyond repair by the April 25 temblor. | |
| That used to be the schoolhouse, he said, pointing to a structure of sagging mud brick walls and twisted, corrugated iron roofing. Mercifully, the quake hit on a Saturday, but what used to be classrooms for 100 children are now filled with dust and rubble. | That used to be the schoolhouse, he said, pointing to a structure of sagging mud brick walls and twisted, corrugated iron roofing. Mercifully, the quake hit on a Saturday, but what used to be classrooms for 100 children are now filled with dust and rubble. |
| As snows work their way down from the mountain peaks and nighttime temperatures plunge, the village, Manebhanjyang, is showing few signs of recovery. Other cities and villages across Nepal share the same fate. While billions of dollars have been pledged to rebuild the country, little has been spent so far amid a long and distracting fight over a new Constitution. With winter approaching, aid workers are warning of a humanitarian crisis. | As snows work their way down from the mountain peaks and nighttime temperatures plunge, the village, Manebhanjyang, is showing few signs of recovery. Other cities and villages across Nepal share the same fate. While billions of dollars have been pledged to rebuild the country, little has been spent so far amid a long and distracting fight over a new Constitution. With winter approaching, aid workers are warning of a humanitarian crisis. |
| “There are many humanitarian needs not met yet,” said Jamie McGoldrick, the resident coordinator of the United Nations for Nepal. “The biggest of those challenges is shelter and winterization.” | “There are many humanitarian needs not met yet,” said Jamie McGoldrick, the resident coordinator of the United Nations for Nepal. “The biggest of those challenges is shelter and winterization.” |
| Deliveries of blankets, warm clothes and insulation materials to more remote regions have been hampered, Mr. McGoldrick said, because paths have been washed away by landslides caused by the quake and monsoons. Villages at the highest altitudes may not have enough food to last the winter. | Deliveries of blankets, warm clothes and insulation materials to more remote regions have been hampered, Mr. McGoldrick said, because paths have been washed away by landslides caused by the quake and monsoons. Villages at the highest altitudes may not have enough food to last the winter. |
| “It’s taking a lot longer to get to those communities than we thought,” he added. | “It’s taking a lot longer to get to those communities than we thought,” he added. |
| Manebhanjyang’s plight is all too typical in Nepal in the aftermath of the April earthquake, which killed more than 8,000 people and displaced about three million, and another powerful temblor that struck on May 12. | Manebhanjyang’s plight is all too typical in Nepal in the aftermath of the April earthquake, which killed more than 8,000 people and displaced about three million, and another powerful temblor that struck on May 12. |
| Manebhanjyang, a village of 500 people about 60 miles southwest of Kathmandu, has been without piped water since its supply was severed in April. Farmers have fashioned shelters from the wreckage of their homes, draping tarps over salvaged wood and crumbled walls. When officials from the Ministry of Education assessed the damage to the school, they suggested the villagers find a charity to fund its reconstruction. | |
| “We’re not expecting to hear anything else,” Mr. Timilsena said. | “We’re not expecting to hear anything else,” Mr. Timilsena said. |
| Nepal’s planning commission has estimated that earthquake reconstruction will take five years to complete at a cost of $6.7 billion. | Nepal’s planning commission has estimated that earthquake reconstruction will take five years to complete at a cost of $6.7 billion. |
| On June 25, at the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction in Kathmandu, foreign governments and international aid bodies pledged a total of $4.4 billion in grants and soft loans to assist in the recovery. At the conference, the prime minister at the time, Sushil Koirala, assured donors that the uses of the funds would be disclosed periodically to “maintain transparency.” | On June 25, at the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction in Kathmandu, foreign governments and international aid bodies pledged a total of $4.4 billion in grants and soft loans to assist in the recovery. At the conference, the prime minister at the time, Sushil Koirala, assured donors that the uses of the funds would be disclosed periodically to “maintain transparency.” |
| More than three months later, the Nepali administration has not completed arrangements even to receive the promised money, much less spend it. | More than three months later, the Nepali administration has not completed arrangements even to receive the promised money, much less spend it. |
| In a sign of the stalled rebuilding efforts, for the last four months students in Manebhanjyang have assembled under a makeshift structure with a tin roof and tarpaulin partitions that form classrooms. In one of the classrooms, a dozen students in blue uniforms listened attentively as the teacher explained English verb conjugation, but with no walls and a mud floor it was difficult to imagine how lessons could continue into winter. | In a sign of the stalled rebuilding efforts, for the last four months students in Manebhanjyang have assembled under a makeshift structure with a tin roof and tarpaulin partitions that form classrooms. In one of the classrooms, a dozen students in blue uniforms listened attentively as the teacher explained English verb conjugation, but with no walls and a mud floor it was difficult to imagine how lessons could continue into winter. |
| In Kathmandu, some question the government’s resolve to help the hundreds of thousands of rural homeless. | In Kathmandu, some question the government’s resolve to help the hundreds of thousands of rural homeless. |
| “I think it’s fair to say the government is rather callous and negligent in the attitude it shows towards people’s welfare,” said Thomas Bell, a British writer based in Nepal and the author of “Kathmandu,” a book about Nepal’s decade-long civil war, which ended in 2006. The earthquake victims, he said, have been “basically left to fend for themselves.” | “I think it’s fair to say the government is rather callous and negligent in the attitude it shows towards people’s welfare,” said Thomas Bell, a British writer based in Nepal and the author of “Kathmandu,” a book about Nepal’s decade-long civil war, which ended in 2006. The earthquake victims, he said, have been “basically left to fend for themselves.” |
| For years, Mr. Bell said, the authorities had invested in emergency planning and training for a natural disaster that experts had predicted would come. “When it happened, all of that was worth nothing,” he said. | For years, Mr. Bell said, the authorities had invested in emergency planning and training for a natural disaster that experts had predicted would come. “When it happened, all of that was worth nothing,” he said. |
| In the months after the earthquake, the social and political maelstrom surrounding the drafting of the country’s long awaited but bitterly divisive Constitution distracted leaders from the reconstruction effort. The Constitution, adopted on Sept. 20, restructures the country into seven provinces that some ethnic communities say will weaken their political clout. | In the months after the earthquake, the social and political maelstrom surrounding the drafting of the country’s long awaited but bitterly divisive Constitution distracted leaders from the reconstruction effort. The Constitution, adopted on Sept. 20, restructures the country into seven provinces that some ethnic communities say will weaken their political clout. |
| Since early August, at least 40 people were killed in strikes and bloody clashes between protesters and the police. The violence suspended economic activity in parts of the country, further slowing reconstruction efforts. | Since early August, at least 40 people were killed in strikes and bloody clashes between protesters and the police. The violence suspended economic activity in parts of the country, further slowing reconstruction efforts. |
| Govind Raj Pokharel, the vice chairman of Nepal’s planning commission and the head of the National Reconstruction Authority, the agency formed to rebuild the county, has said the government erred in prioritizing the Constitution over recovery efforts. | Govind Raj Pokharel, the vice chairman of Nepal’s planning commission and the head of the National Reconstruction Authority, the agency formed to rebuild the county, has said the government erred in prioritizing the Constitution over recovery efforts. |
| Officials have justified their wrangling, saying the political and administrative overhaul would create greater stability, benefiting reconstruction in the long term. But in early September, the reconstruction agency suspended operations after lawmakers failed to come to an agreement on the terms of the bill that would validate the body. | Officials have justified their wrangling, saying the political and administrative overhaul would create greater stability, benefiting reconstruction in the long term. But in early September, the reconstruction agency suspended operations after lawmakers failed to come to an agreement on the terms of the bill that would validate the body. |
| Mr. Pokharel acknowledged that the government’s response had been slow. “Some technical preparations are going on, but not at the speed of people’s expectations,” he said in a telephone interview. | Mr. Pokharel acknowledged that the government’s response had been slow. “Some technical preparations are going on, but not at the speed of people’s expectations,” he said in a telephone interview. |
| The government is unlikely to start spending the $4.4 billion in foreign grants and loans until early November, he said, because of delays in approving aid distribution, the focus on approving the Constitution and concerns about starting the restoration work in the summer monsoon season. “But I hope although it has been delayed, we can make up this delay,” he added. | The government is unlikely to start spending the $4.4 billion in foreign grants and loans until early November, he said, because of delays in approving aid distribution, the focus on approving the Constitution and concerns about starting the restoration work in the summer monsoon season. “But I hope although it has been delayed, we can make up this delay,” he added. |
| In the interim, small-scale voluntary initiatives are struggling to meet earthquake victims’ needs. Together, they have provided as much, or perhaps more, aid in some areas than state institutions and foreign agencies, Mr. Bell said. | In the interim, small-scale voluntary initiatives are struggling to meet earthquake victims’ needs. Together, they have provided as much, or perhaps more, aid in some areas than state institutions and foreign agencies, Mr. Bell said. |
| “If the government had done what we were doing, we wouldn’t have had to form an N.G.O. We would have just volunteered,” said Ashik Amatya, a co-founder of Absolute Gurkha, which provides temporary school structures, known as temporary learning centers or T.L.C.s, to stricken villages such as Manebhanjyang. “But they are not doing anything.” | “If the government had done what we were doing, we wouldn’t have had to form an N.G.O. We would have just volunteered,” said Ashik Amatya, a co-founder of Absolute Gurkha, which provides temporary school structures, known as temporary learning centers or T.L.C.s, to stricken villages such as Manebhanjyang. “But they are not doing anything.” |
| Many villages would prefer permanent brick schools, Mr. Amatya said, but funding has been dropping as the earthquakes have faded from global headlines. | Many villages would prefer permanent brick schools, Mr. Amatya said, but funding has been dropping as the earthquakes have faded from global headlines. |
| “We can either build one permanent structure or we can build 15 to 20 T.L.C.s,” he said. “There are kids who are studying under the open sky. For them, at the moment, a T.L.C. is more than enough.” | “We can either build one permanent structure or we can build 15 to 20 T.L.C.s,” he said. “There are kids who are studying under the open sky. For them, at the moment, a T.L.C. is more than enough.” |