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Nepal returns to normalcy after 2015 Earthquake

Nowadays we can hear again the temple bells ringing very significantly early in the morning in and around Kathmandu, Patan & Bhaktapur Durbar Squares, warding off the spirits as it is believed in Hinduism. People have packed up the tents and moved indoors for a few weeks. Health-conscious Kathmanduites have resumed their regular morning walks. Farmers have started delivering fresh produce. The trading has started to take place in normal pace. People can be seen rushing to their workplaces in hustle-bustle and the school children waiting at the bus stations. The farmers have started harvesting wheat despite the agony. The monsoon rains will start in a few weeks, which means they should be preparing to plant other crops, mainly rice during the rainy season. We can see farmers on the outskirts bringing green vegetables on their bicycles & public vehicles into the city. As one among them said We are trying to get as much fresh food to the people as possible, I feel it is our small contribution. But that’s what we can do and every little bit helps.

Now the life has returned to normal in Nepal quake-hit capital.

Although poorer sections of the city remain strewn with collapsed buildings, there are visibly fewer tents standing in the central part of Kathmandu that had been packed with people in the first few days after the magnitude-7.8 quake hit amid repeated aftershocks.

Inaccessibility to some remote areas, the lack of helicopters, poor communication, and security concerns remained as main challenges in delivering relief materials.

Schools in Nepal reopened from Sunday, May 31st, more than a month after this Himalayan nation was hit by the devastating earthquake. The schools whose buildings were damaged have started managing the classrooms outdoors under a temporary shed of tarpaulins and corrugated tin roofs. It has been told that for the first few weeks, the students will not learn from books, but will focus on play, discussions and recreational activities aimed at coming to grips with the earthquake’s aftermath. In many of the most devastated areas, schools may not reopen. In the badly hit districts of Gorkha, Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha, Dhading, and Nuwakot, the government estimates that 90% of schools collapsed.

Normalcy may take years to recreate. The April 25 earthquake killed more than 9000 people and injured more than 23,000. It destroyed a half a million homes and left more than 3 million people homeless. More than 32,000 classrooms were destroyed.

The government has ordered homeowners to demolish houses built in violation of the building code or pay to have the government do it. Authorities are tagging buildings red, yellow or green, depending on whether they pass or fail inspection. Scores of teetering, partially collapsed buildings in tightly-packed neighborhoods pose challenges for demolition experts.

The government has declared that new buildings cannot be higher than three floors and must be built according to earthquake-resilient specifications.

Nepal has been gripped in unbearable agony and catastrophic crisis from demolition and destruction with deaths and bereavements untold in this generation. People have experienced and endured repeated nightmares outstripping their living memories. Only three out of eight world heritage sites were damaged. But amazingly none of the airports and highways was damaged. Several aircraft from neighboring countries packed with relief materials landed Kathmandu airport after a couple of hours of a massive earthquake. Support and supplies stormed in through governments, several organizations, and individuals as well as. During that time, young Nepalese & tourists went into a rescue mission in an adrenaline rush.

Volunteer Society Nepal received several emails with lots of concerns, thoughts, and donation notes from past volunteers and friends.

We now realize, Nepal and Nepalese indeed have millions and millions of friends around the globe who portrayed, during these days of the tragedy, a single language “ the language of heart, single experience “ the experience of humanity and single feeling “ the feeling of empathy.

Your love is with us and Nepal is always open to you; we pledge to provide more than we have lost. So VISIT or VOLUNTEER WITH US IN NEPAL.
Nepal is returning to normal, Nepal will rise again.

Thank you