Flood reconstruction needs over Rs 500 billion; road and bridge designs being revised

Floods hit the Bhotekoshi in Rasuwa on Bhadau 10, and the Kaligandaki from Asoj 8 to 11. After the floods caused heavy damage to roads and bridges, the government has begun preparing to revise their designs.

Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure Development Bhimarjun Adhikari spoke about this at a program in Kathmandu on Monday. Organized by the Nepal Infrastructure Journalists' Society, the program saw him say that the design code should be reviewed.

According to Adhikari, floods and landslides cause losses worth billions of rupees to roads and bridges every year. He said climate change has made it difficult to predict the nature and scale of disasters.

Adhikari said that because floods carry silt and large boulders along with the water, a different design is needed in the upper riverside areas. The ministry has also moved ahead with plans to set up a disaster-focused maintenance and resilience unit.

Meanwhile, the 21st meeting of the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management was held on Monday under Prime Minister Balen Shah. The council said more than Rs 500 billion will be needed for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of affected areas.

The council has recommended to the Finance Ministry that about Rs 559 billion be approved for 504 projects submitted by various ministries and agencies. It has directed the National Authority for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management to recommend budgets once details arrive for projects whose costs have not been specified.