Government to re-assess condition of all housing apartments

KATHMANDU, May 14: The government is preparing to re-assess all housing apartments in Kathmandu Valley after a powerful aftershock rocked the country on Tuesday afternoon.

Though Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) have already made preliminary assessment of majority of housing apartments after the earthquake of April 25, officials said they would assess condition of housing apartments yet again suspecting that high-rises have suffered physical damage due to Tuesday's aftershock.

DUDBC had formed a six-member committee of experts to study the condition of high-rises after the earthquake of April 25. The committee, which was headed by chief of Kathmandu Division Office of DUDBC and senior divisional engineer Sagar Krishna Joshi, had monitored 27 housing and apartments till Tuesday.
The committee has provided red stickers to two apartments which means they are unsafe. Similarly, it has given green stickers to seven apartments indicating that they are safe to stay. Remaining 18 apartments have been given yellow stickers which mean they are in need of some maintenance.

"Tuesday's tremor might have physically damaged high-rises which were termed 'safe' during our earlier inspection," an official told Republica. "We will soon direct concerned teams to begin re-inspection of residential high-rises."

The inspection team had given red stickers to Park View Horizon, Dhapasi and Kuleshwar Apartment Phase II of Kuleshwar.

"We had already studied condition of 27 out of 30 housing apartments where people are living," Joshi told Republica. "We need to re-inspect all those buildings as Tuesday's tremor most have altered physical condition of these apartments found at the time of initial monitoring."

According to DUBDC, 70 housings and apartments have received license in Kathmandu Valley so far.

Joshi also said assessment of remaining housings and apartments will be carried out simultaneously.

DUBDC officials, however, say that the ongoing inspection of residential high-rises was preliminary and based on visual-judgment. "Except the two apartments, which have been given red stickers, we cannot exactly judge the condition of other apartment buildings because the ongoing inspection is based on visual assessment," Joshi said, adding, "Only a detailed inspection, which DUDBC needs to carry out in the second phase, will show the actual condition of such high-rises."

Source: myRepublica