Government To Rebuild Thame Settlement

Solukhumbu, April 22: The government will move ahead the reconstruction of the Thame settlement in the Sagarmatha region which has been affected by climate change-induced disasters.

Addressing the Summiteer's Summit organized at Thame in Khumbu rural municipality-5 today, Minister for Forest and Environment Ain Bahadur Shahi said that the government has owned the reconstruction of Thame.

The Summit was organized by an organisation called Sathsathai to mark the International Earth Day.

Minister Shahi expressed deep concern over the condition of Thame settlement, which was devastated due to floods and pledged that the government would move ahead with an action plan with a clear strategy for immediate rehabilitation and long-term reconstruction in the area.

"The flood caused by the glacial lake burst has caused havoc in Thame. It's not just a local natural phenomenon, it is the impact of global climate change. Although Nepal has done nothing wrong, it is bearing the consequences of the climate crisis,” he said.

According to the Environment Minister, Nepal needs to raise a stronger voice in the international debate on climate justice in view of such sensitivity. "Now the climate crisis needs an implementation-oriented approach, not just debate," he stressed.

Minister for Defence Manbir Rai, representatives of various organisations working in the field of environment and mountaineering, local people's representatives, mountaineers, environmentalists, media persons and local residents were present on the occasion.

Dozens of houses, as well as agricultural land, bridges, trekking routes, power lines, drinking water schemes and religious structures, were damaged in the floods triggered by the glacial lake burst in Thame in August last year.

The displaced families are currently sheltering in temporary shelters and neighbours' homes. Even after seven months of the disaster, the reconstruction has not much progressed.

Sathsathai, a women-focused non-profitable organization, has been carrying out programmes on women’s participation in climate advocacy and action, nature conservation, tourism promotion, and achieving meaningful representation of women in the country-to-global sustainable development agenda.