Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli accompanied President Bhandari at the inauguration ceremony. Kathmandu Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya and Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha Khadgi also were present at the ceremony.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Bhandari assured that the reconstruction of other monuments damaged by the earthquake would be completed soon.

After the inauguration, President Bhandari and PM Oli, along with other officials, visited the Balgopaleshwar temple at the center of the pond.

Ranipokhari is one of many historical monuments damaged by the devastating 2015 earthquake. The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) had started the reconstruction of the pond in March last year. Now, the pond and the Balgopaleshwar Temple regained its original glory, style, and shape, as built by King Pratap Malla.

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As the reports say, the government has recently requested the Indian side for its approval to use Line of Credit (LoC) related to earthquake reconstruction for other infrastructure projects of the country.

Nepal has reportedly requested this at a Nepal-India Line of Credit (LoC) Review Meeting held in Kathmandu earlier this week.

According to the government, the reconstruction project will not need full LoC and thus, can be utilized for other projects.

Nepali panel led by the Finance Ministry’s International Economic Co-operation Co-ordination Division (IECCD) Chief Shreekrishna Nepal and the Indian panel led by the External Affairs Ministry’s Development Partnership Administration Joint Secretary Prashant Agrawal participated in the event.

Out of a total grant of USD 1 billion approved for reconstruction, USD 750 million has been divided as LoC and USD 250 million as grant.

Projects to be Determined
The Finance Ministry has already asked National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to give a detail on the divisions to be made from LoC for use in reconstruction activity and other projects.

Following this, NRA is currently in the process of determining the projects that require LoC fund.

“After the projects are decided, we could determine the amount to be utilized within the tenure of the NRA. We shall discuss with the Finance Ministry and Indian side to decide whether implementation of the projects identified for reconstruction would meet the set conditions,” says NRA Joint Spokesperson Manohar Ghimire.

Also Read:  Nepal 2015 Earthquake: India, UN Agencies Step for Reconstruction Assistance

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Resultant is the evolution of concepts like Big Data, among others that primarily pitch for data usage and management as the key to modern world and in fact, the next big trend.

Following the line of other countries, Nepal is also bracing up to catch up this growing trend and that was evident on the World Open Data Day on March 03, 2018.

Open Data Day 2018 seemed so special for Nepal and was celebrated on a grand scale at the country’s Durbar Square, amidst the presence of many data experts, enthusiasts and all the related stakeholders from across the world.

This unique public event in Kathmandu saw the participation of a large number of Nepali students and representatives from the country’s Open Data community.

The program saw a wide range of discussions on topics related to Open Data such as the role of data-driven solutions in driving innovation, supporting policy decision-making and implementation measures, among others.

While different members of Nepal’s Open Data Community and Data for Development Program (DFDP) jointly organized this event, The Asia Foundation and Development Initiatives implemented it with the funding by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

DFID supports local partners in terms of guidance, funding and expertise that are required to drive progress in terms of sharing and data usage.

Significance of Data and Related Applications Highlighted

Marking the occasion, DFDP hosted a series of programs including a Data Poster Competition by local social innovation hub called Bikas Udhyami to promote different forms of data representations such as data visualization and infographics, among others.

DFDP also organized another event called Data-a-thon. The event organized by Open Knowledge Nepal and the Centre for Data Journalism brought together local journalists and technology students for a workshop on data-driven story telling.

Besides, a two-day exhibition was also held at Patan Durbar Square featuring infographics on a wide range of data visualizations by various organizations that explained the salient features and significance of open data.

Infographic presentation on know-how of Open Data by Open Knowledge Nepal, special graphical representations on news happenings by Center for Data Journalism, collaborative digital approach to ensure disaster resilience by Kathmandu Living Labs, presentations on the country’s socio-economic development and federalism by Nepal in Data were among key events organized.

Map-a-Thon, another program by Kathmandu Living Labs, introduced the Open Street Maps (OSM) to the public and also conducted training sessions on how can one contribute to the development and implementation of high-quality mapping services across the country beginning with the Kathmandu Valley.

A panel discussion was also held on the occasion, wherein, officials from the Central Bureau of Statistics, National Reconstruction Authority, Finance Comptroller General Office, Teach for Nepal and Gender & Adolescence: Global Evidence Program discussed importance and implementation of data in preparing the annual National Budget. As an outcome, panelists showcased recommendations by the civil societies and government agencies in implementing data applications in budget-making process.

Highlighting the implementation of citizen-generated data on solid waste management, Clean UP Nepal presented its Nepal Waste Map website and app that is focused on improving solid waste management services in Kathmandu.

Overall, the events drew an amazing response wherein the attendees reportedly said they had a unique and first-of-its-kind experience in Nepal.

“After coming here, and looking at all these pictures, I have ideas on things that have happened in Nepal, how data is produced and where data comes from in Nepal,” said one of the participants.

Open Data Trend in Nepal

Having witnessed rounds of socio-political transformations over the period, Nepal is on path to stand in line with the trend and positive moves towards Open Data is one significant step in that process.

Despite the positive response to the Open Data trend, Nepal still ranks 83^rd out of 114 countries on the Global Open Data Barometer, in the bottom 25 percent in terms of open data readiness, implementation and impact of related initiatives.

Nepal currently has the presence of some active online portals such as Nepal in Data, Open Nepal and various NGO portals offering effective open data services on indicators such as population change, expenditure, agriculture, and disaster recovery at times of earthquakes, among other calamities.

On the flip side, there are also issues pertaining to the accessibility of datasets available on public domain because of their technical limitations.

To address this, the country’s open data communities, students and all the concerned stakeholders are taking necessary measures towards promoting openness and easy accessibility of vital data and government reports on public domain, and Open Data Day appeared as a productive platform.

Former Vice Chair of National Planning Commission (NPC), Nepal Dr. Swarnim Wagle, who attended the event as its chair, highlighted the Government of Nepal’s efforts towards enhancing data availability. “Re-orientation of our society should be towards an open society based on facts,” adds Wagle.

The Head of DFID-Nepal Dr. Rurik Marsden also said, “Data is the currency of good decision-making,” while pitching for implementation of data and his organizational support to Open Data in Nepal.

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The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has directed local officials to address the issues related to private housing reconstruction by the end of August 2017.

In a relief measure to the April 2015 earthquake victims, NRA informed that it has addressed 31,979 pending grievances filed by the quake-hit victims seeking reconstruction after the disaster.

In response to the complaints filed by victims from 14 districts, the authority confirmed that around 3,898 households have been added to the housing aid beneficiary list.

“NRA had received a total of 207,861 complaints. Of them, 35,229 households were found eligible for receiving housing aid,” said a statement issued by NRA’s spokesperson, Yam Lal Bhusal.

Survey Underway:

The first phase of survey is already underway to cover 75,910 households, and another survey will cover the remaining 45,809 households.

NRA also informed about a field survey of 15,453 households to be conducted, which would be followed by an additional survey to cover 12,628 households missed in earlier surveys. The authority is hiring 300 engineers for the purpose.

The authority has also decided to address the complaints related to private housing reconstruction, and has directed the local officials to address the issues by the end of August 2017.

According to NRA, the construction of 34,850 houses is already completed, and 106,206 beneficiaries are working on rebuilding activity.

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