Posted by Anup Baral May 11th, 2016 :
US Secretary of State John Kerry met Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa here on the first anniversary of the massive temblor that hit the Himalayan nation and discussed rebuilding and recovery efforts. “The Secretary and the Under-Secretary encouraged Nepal to keep up the pace on earthquake reconstructions. While recognising the significance of Nepal’s constitution, he urged Nepal to continue working to ensure it meets all the aspirations of the Nepali people,” State Department Spokesman John Kirby said. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa has insisted the need of support from international community towards Nepal's bid for post-earthquake reconstruction. He said this in an interaction organized by Washington DC based United States Institute of Peace to mark the first year of the destructive earthquake occurred in Nepal.Addressing the interaction, DPM Thapa said the top priority of the reconstruction is to construct private houses followed by the road and bridge, schools, health posts and tourism sites. On the occasion, Thapa shared that the earthquake had killed around 9,000 people, damaged 600,000 houses and cost the damage worth $ 7 billion in Nepal. "We have lost many things but not the hope to come back", he said, pledging to complete the reconstruction of Nepal within coming five years. RSS