Nepal makes scant progress in rebuilding 2 years after quake

Sankhu: The paved alleys are still lined by the skeletons of homes once filled with families. Shop shelves are empty, and the water well in the center of town remains clogged by fallen debris. Children carefully side-step piles of broken brick on their way to school, reports AFP. This is life today in the tiny Nepalese farming town of Sankhu, once famed for its lively Hindu temple festivals and rich produce markets just outside the capital of Kathmandu.
Nearly everything was lost on April 25, 2015, when a terrifying earthquake shook the Himalayan nation, killing more than 9,000 people and toppling nearly a million homes nationwide. Little progress has been made in the two years since, raising questions about the government's commitment to the recovery effort as well as the fate of billions of dollars in foreign aid. In Sankhu, where the quake claimed 98 lives and toppled 800 homes, most of the remaining residents have struggled to restore what they once had. Many say they have yet to receive any help from the government despite pledges of aid money and help with bank loans. "Our town was once one of the best known towns in the country," said 70-year-old Komal Nath Shrestha. "Now all we have is ruins and no hope." Shrestha spent four hours after the quake buried in the rubble of his ruined four-story home before family members pulled him out.

 

Nepal makes scant progress in rebuilding 2 years after quake

Sankhu: The paved alleys are still lined by the skeletons of homes once filled with families. Shop shelves are empty, and the water well in the center of town remains clogged by fallen debris. Children carefully side-step piles of broken brick on their way to school, reports AFP. This is life today in the tiny Nepalese farming town of Sankhu, once famed for its lively Hindu temple festivals and rich produce markets just outside the capital of Kathmandu. Nearly everything was lost on April 25, 2015, when a terrifying earthquake shook the Himalayan nation, killing more than 9,000 people and toppling nearly a million homes nationwide. Little progress has been made in the two years since, raising questions about the governments commitment to the recovery effort as well as the fate of billions of dollars in foreign aid. In Sankhu, where the quake claimed 98 lives and toppled 800 homes, most of the remaining residents have struggled to restore what they once had. Many say they have yet to receive any help from the government despite pledges of aid money and help with bank loans. Our town was once one of the best known towns in the country, said 70-year-old Komal Nath Shrestha. Now all we have is ruins and no hope. Shrestha spent four hours after the quake buried in the rubble of his ruined four-story home before family members pulled him out.