Broadsheet dailies (both in Nepali and English) published in Kathmandu on Sunday, April 21, 2016, have given prominent space to reports on the first anniversary of the April 25, 2015 Nepal earthquake, and journalist Kanak Mani Dixit’s ill health following his arrest by the CIAA on Friday.

Important

One year after quake, survivors in worse state

Most newspapers have chosen to focus on how reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of the quake do not meet the people’s expectation, and how people in the worst affected districts are moving on with their lives.

The Himalayan Times, in its lead story for the day, however, has chosen to report on how Nepal still remains unprepared for mega disasters in the future. The report says that no significant effort has been made to enhance the capacity of search and rescue in the event of a devastating earthquake and the trend of constructing buildings and structures haphazardly has not stopped.  The report quotes a Home Ministry official as saying, “Although the government has increased the stock of relief materials in its regional warehouses and has procured some heavy equipment like crane and dozer, we have not been able to develop dedicated trained search and rescue teams. We still lack the manpower and equipment to carry out search and rescue in the rubble of concrete structures.”

Nagarik in its second main story for the day says that residents of Barpak, the epicentre of the quake, are moving on with their lives, and they have lost hope that the government will help them rebuild their houses. Nepal Samacharpatra in its lead story says the government is not serious about reconstruction work. The paper has a box story above the fold on how villagers in Dolakha, one of the worst-affected districts, are unable to build their houses. Annapurna Post has a two-column box story with a larger-than-normal screaming headline that says “Tears have not stopped”.  It talks about how the families of people who went missing during the quake are dealing with the situation.

Journalist Dixit hospitalised

Annapurna Post and The Himalayan Times have given space to a report on the health situation of journalist Kanak Mani Dixit, who was hospitalised on Saturday. In its report, The Himalayan Times says it is likely that the CIAA will present Dixit before the special court on Sunday. The report quotes a family member as saying that Dixit has thanked the CIAA chief Lokman Singh Karki for allowing him to get his tests done. It also quotes a CIAA spokesperson as saying that if Dixit, who has high blood pressure, is discharged from the hospital soon, the CIAA will present him before the court, and in case he is required to remain in hospital, the CIAA will approach the Special Court with documents stating the reasons for Dixit’s absence.

Ignored 

Karobar, in its anchor for the day, reports how funds allocated for social security are being mismanaged. Citing a recent report by the Auditor General, the paper says that in districts such as Mustang, Tehrathum, Dhading, Solukhumbu, Argakhanchi, Kanchanpur, Rautahat and Salyan, social security money was issued in the name of dead people as well as those who had already migrated.

Interesting

Birgunj to get new landfill site 

Abhiyan reports that the government is going to build a new landfill for Birgunj, which has a price tag of Rs 480 million. The RSS report says that the project will be implemented with help from the Asian Development Bank.