Mustang. Due to the earthquake that passed through Chosere epicenter, the houses of Upper Mustang have been extensively damaged. Although there were no human casualties due to the earthquake, all the houses were cracked and even the school building from the king's palace was damaged.
400 to 500 houses of the locals have been damaged, said Tasi Nhurbu Gurung, the chairman of the municipality. According to him, the historical palace of the king has also become dilapidated. The accommodation of teachers and students of Divyadeep High School in Choser will not be usable.
The dormitory building where the students live is completely dilapidated, the soil has fallen so that people cannot stand on it. Arrangements have been made for the students to sleep by removing the benches from the classrooms and moving them to a safe building that is not cracked," he said.
After the teachers' residences were destroyed to the extent that they could not live in them, they were kept in tents on behalf of the rural municipality. An earthquake of 5.3 magnitude occurred with its epicenter at Choser. According to Gurung, earthquakes have occurred a dozen times since then. After feeling the continuous earthquakes, the locals are leaving their homes and spending the night in community houses and open spaces. Especially ward number 1 Choser, 2 Chhonhup and 3 Thingar have been more affected.
The earthquake has also damaged the historical old palace here. Looking at the palace, the walls are cracked in many places. The soil has fallen. It looked very dilapidated," says Newton Lamsal, the chief administrative officer. "If there is another shock, the palace may collapse. There is an increased risk of destroying the valuable thankas and mandalas here.
Due to continuous aftershocks, local residents are panicking. Even though the cold weather has started, the locals are forced to spend the night by pitching tents outside because they cannot stay indoors. "There are continuous shocks even in the afternoon. "People are sitting outside with tents," he added, adding, "No one is sitting inside the house."
After the impact of the earthquake, the executive meeting has been postponed. The municipality said that they will hold a meeting on Friday and take further decisions. The technical team of the rural municipality is currently reaching the affected area and collecting detailed details of the damage. After the damage caused by the earthquake, Member of the House of Representatives Yogesh Gauchan drew the attention of the federal government.
"Houses and public structures in Lomanthang Ward No. 1 to 5 have been damaged," he said. "According to the preliminary study, 300 to 500 households have suffered moderate to severe damage, while some houses have become completely uninhabitable." He said that the government should take special initiatives to preserve the historical and cultural structures in the Lomanthang area as the houses are made of traditional mud.
Lomanthang is a living museum. The structures cracked by the rain after the earthquake have become more dangerous,' he said before, 'relief, compensation and reconstruction plan should be brought for the affected immediately.'
