Nepal reopens quake-toppled historic tower | Inquirer News

Nepal reopens quake-toppled historic tower

/ 07:43 PM April 24, 2021

 

nepal tower

The new 23-story, 84-meter (276-foot) white tower, built next to the rubble of the 19th-century historic Dharahara tower that collapsed in a devastating 2015 earthquake, is pictured during its inauguration ceremony in Kathmandu on April 24, 2021. (Photo by Bikash KARKI / AFP)

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal on Saturday inaugurated a replica of a historic tower that collapsed in a devastating 2015 earthquake, a day before the disaster’s sixth anniversary.

The 19th-century, nine-story Dharahara tower, a major tourist attraction, was among buildings that crumbled in the 7.8-magnitude quake that killed nearly 9,000 people.

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Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli inaugurated the new 23-story, 84-metre (276-foot) white tower, built next to the rubble of the original, by raining flowers from the top-floor balcony.

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“Dharahara is linked to our feelings, pride, past, and history,” the prime minister said.

Two underground floors have also been built, to hold a museum about the quake.

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The tower had already been rebuilt once, after a 1934 earthquake.

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More than 50 people were killed when the original 50-meter (165-foot) tower — known for its views across the capital — fell in 2015.

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The new tower is part of a huge national reconstruction program.

The rebuilding has been hit by political infighting and bureaucracy and many buildings, including health and government institutions and schools, are unfinished.

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The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), the government body overseeing rebuilding, says however that 93 percent of private houses have been rebuilt.

Some 493 out of 920 quake-damaged cultural heritage sites have also been rebuilt, while 288 of them are under construction, according to government records.

/MUF
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TAGS: Nepal, Quake, rebuilding, tower

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