A study of the resilience of local community and reconstruction of Earthquake damaged buildings Balaju and Gongabun area of Kathmandu

Abstract

The Great Earthquake thathadstruckinthecentral part of Nepal on April 25, 2015 is one ofthe most unforgettable traumatic events in the contemporary history ofNepal. Thisdevastating natural disaster killed almost 9,000 people, injured and maimedanequally greatnumber of people and destroyedthousands of private and public houses, buildings,infrastructures worth billions of rupees. The country has yet to fully recover fromtremendousdamagescaused by the mega-earthquake. Like other places in the central region of Nepal,Kathmandu, the capital city, was also badly jolted by the earthquake causing irreparabledamage to thenumerous heritagebuildings, temples of the great cultural and historicalimportance as well asasignificant loss of life and propertyof common people. Amongplacesin Kathmandu Metropolitan City, the placeswhich was most affected by the Earthquake areBalajuand Gongabunarea. Balaju and Gongabunarelocatedat a distance of only fewkilometersnorth-westernoutskirtareaof Kathmandu city. This present research entitled“AStudy of the Resilienceof Local Community andReconstruction of Earthquake DamagedBuildingsin Balaju and Gongabun Areaof Kathmandu” attempts to conduct a study of thelocal community’s attempts to reconstruct their earthquake-damaged houses and theuniquespirit of resiliency demonstrated bythe communitypeoplein these twoplaces. The study isbased onthe analysis of thesocio-economic, demographic and educational backgrounds aswell as the personalopinion and perception of the local respondentswho were selected forthe survey purpose. Based on the answers of the respondents, an attempt to assess themethods used by the community to develop the spirit ofresilience amongthemselves andthecurrent status ofthe reconstruction of damaged buildings, issues and problems faced by thecommunitypeople in rebuildingprocess hasalso been explored.With anobjectiveof helpingto improve the effectiveness, management and governance aspects related todelivery oftherelief andassistance to the disaster-affected people,andexpediting theprocess ofreconstruction activities, theresearch has also madesome relevantrecommendations todifferent concerned agencies and stakeholders like NRA, government agencies, NGOs,INGOs, private sector, engineers, architects, scholars and researchers etc.