Kathmandu. The movement that took place on 23rd and 24th of August 2082 turned the main administrative center of the country from Singha Durbar to Sheetal Niwas, which is the office of the President, into ashes. After the government brutally suppressed the movement of the Genji generation on the 23rd under the guise of police and administration, a more violent demonstration took place on the 24th. During this, several government and private properties were also vandalized and set on fire.

The dignified structures of the country, which were burned by the roar of the movement, still stand as ugly ruins. The agitators set fire and vandalized various government offices, courts and historical buildings. However, even after a year has passed, these buildings, which are associated with the prestige of the country, have not yet been reconstructed.

Although the technical bodies for reconstruction are ready 'on paper', concrete work has not been done because these structures are not on the government's priority.

The Department of Urban Development and Building Construction has completed the technical preparation and design but said that the reconstruction work could not proceed due to lack of budget approval from the Ministry of Finance. According to the Deputy Director General of the department, Prakash Aryal, although the technical preparation of the structure that was completely damaged in the Genji movement was completed, the reconstruction work could not proceed due to lack of budget approval. He says that once the budget is approved, he will go for reconstruction immediately. According to Deputy Director General Aryal, some of the structures that have sustained minor damage have been reconstructed and some are in the process of reconstruction.

BICC's existence is in crisis, to be demolished and rebuilt

The reconstruction of the New Baneshwar International Conference Center (BICC), i.e. the then Parliament Building, which was the first to be damaged by fire during the agitation, has not yet started. The protesters set fire to the gate of this building on the very first day. On the second day i.e. 24 August 2082, this building was destroyed by arson caused by the protesters. Although the structure of the building appears to be standing from the outside, the fire has made its interior completely hollow.

According to Deputy Director General of Urban Development and Building Construction Department, Prakash Aryal, it is not possible to restore this building by 'retrofitting' (reinforcement). He says that there is a discussion about demolishing it and rebuilding it in its old form.

Aryal said, "Our technical study has shown that the internal structure of BICC should be completely demolished." The government has not yet taken a concrete decision on whether to rebuild this 30-35 year old building in its original form or build a new modern building.

About 3 decades ago, this conference center was built at a cost of 1.15 billion rupees. This center, which was reduced to ashes in an instant during the Genji movement, has raised a big question about the government's efficiency as a decision has not been made whether to demolish the building or not even after a year has passed.

3.5 billion plan for Singha Darbar and Sheetal Niwas

Prime Minister's and Council of Ministers' offices and Sheetal Niwas have been retrofitted and reconstructed in Singha Darbar, the country's main administrative center. A plan has been made to strengthen (retrofitting) these buildings to reflect the old architecture.

According to Ganesh Karmacharya, Senior Divisional Engineer (CDE) of the Federal Secretariat Construction and Management Office, the cost is estimated at Rs 1.5 billion for the main building of Singha Durbar and Rs 2 billion for Sheetal Niwas.

However, Karmacharya says that the permission of the Department of Archeology and ensuring the budget of the Ministry of Finance are mandatory to start the work on these buildings, so the reconstruction has been delayed. The design is ready, the file has been sent to the Department of Archeology for approval. There was no agreement from there. In the same sense, due to the delay in giving approval to the budget, the tender process could not be started," Karmacharya said.

On the one hand, the government is delaying the budget management and on the other hand, the main administrative structures of the country are in an ugly condition for a year, and it is sending a negative message to the international world as well.

Other buildings whose reconstruction has been stopped due to lack of budget

The 'Godavari Sunrise' conference center and Babarmahal (road department building) at Godavari in Lalitpur were also damaged during the protest. A cost estimate of more than 600 million rupees is ready for Godavari Sunrise. Since the budget was not approved, its work could not proceed.

Similarly, although the design of Babar Mahal (road department building) and the district administration office of Kathmandu, which were burnt to ashes during the protest, have been completed, they have not been tendered due to lack of budget.

The ministerial quarter is in its final stages

Amidst the disappointment, promising progress has been seen in the reconstruction of some buildings. The tender process for the reconstruction of the Supreme Court building has been completed and the work has started. After the civil construction work of minister quarter at Bhainsepati in Lalitpur has been completed, the interior decoration work is being done, which is expected to be completed by the end of October.

Likewise, the building of the Ministry of Education has been reconstructed, while the cost estimates of the buildings of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Health have been revised and tenders are being prepared next month. Kathmandu District Court building is being strengthened in the first phase, but the internal works have been stopped due to the budget.

The work of the structure reached the final stage

According to Deputy Director General Aryal, the department is working on the details of the damage to the large buildings under the federal government that were damaged during the Genji movement. Out of 117 buildings that suffered minor damage, 105 have been repaired and put into operation in the last financial year. The building has been repaired at a cost of around 13 crores. The work of the remaining 12 is also in the final stage.

However, the condition of 83 large buildings that have been partially or completely damaged is alarming. Of these, 28 have been completed and 22 are under construction. Aryal informed that the tender for the remaining 33 buildings will be issued this year, for which an additional 32 million rupees will be required.

According to Deputy Director General Aryal, 6 other government buildings, which are 40-50 years old, have to be demolished and built new ones, the architectural design of which has been completed, but there is no plan to start the work.

If the budget is not released on time, there is a risk that the price of construction materials will increase and the cost will increase further.

How many structures were damaged?

During the Genji movement, 380 buildings, large and small, belonging to the union were damaged by fire. Out of them, 93 buildings were moderately damaged, 180 buildings were partially damaged and 105 buildings were completely damaged.

The committee formed to assess the damage caused by the Genji movement and prepare a public structure reconstruction plan estimated that the reconstruction of government structures damaged in the Genji movement would cost 36 billion 30 million rupees. It is mentioned in the report submitted by the committee to the Sushila Karki-led government on 25th November 2082.

Damage equal to 44 billion 93 crore 73 lakhs has been done in the government/public sector. Of this, the federal government has 68 percent, while the provincial and local levels have 10 and 22 percent respectively.