MAY 11 (Reuters) — Earthquake survivors in Kathmandu began cleanup work and turn to rebuilding their lives on Monday morning (May 11), 16 days after a massive earthquake brought down buildings and killed thousands of people.
Workers were seen cleaning up Durbar Square, a UNESCO world heritage site that used to attract tens of thousands of tourists every year before the disaster.
Despite the government’s pledge to rebuild the country, some worry that the task may take years.
“We had a very tragically incident happen, and this world heritage site was completely damaged. And our prime minister has assured us that they will rebuild everything but of course this will take years to build up,” said 35-year-old local resident Sabin.
On April 25, a devastating earthquake killed nearly 8,000 people and flattened towns and villages across central Nepal. Nearly 18,000 people were injured, and more than 541,000 buildings damaged.
The government said the cost of the first phase of reconstruction would be $2 billion and that it had set aside $200 million towards that.
The quake has affected 8 million of Nepal’s 28 million people, with at least 3 million needing tents, water, food and medicines over the next three months, said the United Nations. (Kathmandu, Nepal)