{"id":56272,"date":"2026-10-06T18:26:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/?p=56272"},"modified":"2026-10-06T18:26:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:41:37","slug":"minister-lamsal-for-paradigm-shift-in-construction-of-disaster-resistant-structures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/minister-lamsal-for-paradigm-shift-in-construction-of-disaster-resistant-structures\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister Lamsal for ‘paradigm shift’ in construction of disaster-resistant structures"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kathmandu, Oct 6: Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal has said that considering the risks posed by climate change, a ‘paradigm shift’ is needed in policies related to infrastructure construction and urban development.<\/p>\n

In today’s meeting of the parliamentary special committee on the impact of climate change, climate justice, and the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster on the mountains under the House of Representatives, he said that the effects of climate change have hit infrastructure the hardest.
\nMinister Lamsal emphasized that infrastructure should be built in a disaster-resilient and sustainable way, considering the damage caused by recent floods and landslides.<\/p>\n

He stated that the main challenge right now is ‘water management’ and expressed the view that high flood levels and the underground water levels should be given special importance in infrastructure development.<\/p>\n

Minister Lamsal said that policies need to be put in place based on the reality that the flow of the river increases over time and causes flooding and damage to infrastructure due to the improper management of debris and other materials that accumulate in the river every year.<\/p>\n

He expressed the view that because about 5 to 10 centimeters of material accumulate annually in the rivers of hilly areas and up to 20 centimeters in the Tarai region, and proper management with a clear strategy has not been done on time, our infrastructure and other structures have now become irrelevant.<\/p>\n

Minister Lamsal mentioned that the current legal system in riverine material management has caused problems in forest and park areas, informing that efforts are being made to establish a legal system to regularly manage the river’s flow areas.<\/p>\n

He said that excessive excavation increases river erosion, and if excavation is not done, sediments accumulate and raise the flood level, so both sides need to be managed in a balanced way.<\/p>\n

Especially, Minister Lamsal pointed out that the underground water has been under stress due to excessive boring for irrigation and drinking water south of the Chure region, and he emphasized the need to manage rain and surface water through structures like ponds and reservoirs.<\/p>\n

New design in reconstruction of infrastructures in Bhotekoshi-Trishuli area<\/strong><\/p>\n

Minister Lamsal made it clear that the damaged roads and bridges in the Bhotekoshi\u2013Trishuli area will not be rebuilt using the old design. According to him, the new road’s alignment will be made safer, and the bridge design has also been revised.<\/p>\n

“There used to be a pillar in the middle, but now we have changed the design so that it becomes a long-span bridge,” Minister Lamsal said. “For this, we are collaborating with domestic and foreign technical experts, and the reconstruction will be fast-tracked.”<\/p>\n

The Infrastructure Development Minister said that there is no need to wait four years to rebuild the damaged bridges and that the process to reconstruct all bridges would be pushed forward immediately. He mentioned that some work would be put out for tender before Dashain, and a detailed project report (DPR) would be prepared for remaining work, which would be carried out in phases after Dashain\u2013Tihar, as part of the government’s plan.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Minister Lamsal informed that preparations are underway to start the purchasing process for the reconstruction of the damaged drinking water projects even before Dashain.
\nResettlement in safe place, settlements to reflect identity<\/p>\n

Minister Lamsal said that the government’s goal is to relocate families affected by the disaster to safe places. He informed that work is ongoing to identify land and coordinate with local authorities to build houses for those affected.<\/p>\n

He stated that the original identity of the affected community will be preserved during the reconstruction. \u201cWe will rebuild the houses by working together with the local municipality and the general public. I also want to express the government’s commitment to making special arrangements to protect the elderly and children in the affected areas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to him, arrangements will be made in coordination with the relevant ministry, from ensuring children’s education and employment to protecting the elderly.<\/p>\n

All three tiers of government will operate in parallel in disaster management
\nMinister Lamsal informed that in the coming days, the structure and legal framework of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) will be revised so that the federal, provincial, and local levels can be deployed in parallel during disaster management.
\nHe said that the government plans to make all three levels of government resource-rich and move forward in a coordinated way.<\/p>\n

Minister Lamsal expressed his commitment to arrange alternative roads in the affected areas, improve roads at the federal, provincial, and local levels as needed, and manage the necessary equipment and budget for that.<\/p>\n

He mentioned that in the future, decisions about where and how to build settlements, roads, industries, schools, hospitals, and housing should be made by linking them with disaster risk through an integrated development plan.<\/p>\n

The Minister clarified that the old practice of building settlements and roads along the riverbank will also be reviewed and the infrastructure would be reconstructed safely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kathmandu, Oct 6: Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal has said that considering the risks posed by climate change, a ‘paradigm shift’ is needed in policies related to infrastructure construction and urban development. In today’s meeting of the parliamentary special committee on the impact of climate change, climate justice, and the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster on the mountains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,11,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main-news","category-national","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56272"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56272"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56274,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56272\/revisions\/56274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalsamaj.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}