Kathmandu, January 11
In the April 25 and May 12 earthquakes, which killed around 9,000 people, injured thousands and destroyed infrastructure worth a fortune, a good number of gumbas also got destroyed.
These centres of faith are still awaiting repair.
Rishi Acharya, joint-secretary at the Ministry of Local Development, told Onlinekhabar that 31 districts where these gumbas were located have demanded a total of eight billion rupees for their reconstruction.
Acharya says there’s no separate body to look after the gumbas, so the district authorities concerned have approached the ministry. “But the local development ministry has funds for village development committees, municipalities and district development committees. It cannot manage funds for gumba reconstruction directly,” Acharya said.
The government has tasked the Reconstruction Authority with the reconstruction of quake-hit cultural infrastructure. With the districts demanding funds from the ministry for reconstruction of gumbas, the ministry does not know as to who should arrange necessary funds and how, according to a source.
