IS NEPAL SAFE TO TRAVEL AFTER 2015 EARTHQUAKE
The earthquake of April 25, 2015, killed 8686 people leaving thousands injured and many more homeless. The rural parts of Nepal are still recovering from the damage caused by the incident. The resulting year saw tourists number all-time low in preceding six years. The Visit Nepal 2020 campaign can be the backbone to support the fragile economic conditions of numerous families in the rural areas.
Some media outlets reports of Nepal in the state of complete devastation and buried under heaps of pile is wrong. The earthquake mostly downed old buildings made of mud and some temples around the affected districts. The majority of Kathmandu remains intact which was not shown in the media, all a scheme to generate more TRP.
Nepal was affected majorly in about 5 districts and minorly in 7 other districts. All other destinations are entirely untouched. The repair and reconstruction of temples and heritage sites are underway and will finish come 2020.
The Tourism Board has checked every route and the damage sustained by the trail. Currently, all 35 main hiking routes are declared safe to travel, and national parks cleared for visits. The government sees transportation infrastructure and airlines service as a primary aspect that needs improvement to ensure smooth flow of tourists both internationally and domestically. The government is mending roads and constructing new roads where necessary.
After the earthquake, all the buildings, trekking routes, temples and other commercial buildings all over the affected districts were thoroughly checked by Government approved engineers. The buildings with a red stamp are dangerous and best left unventured. There are very few buildings with red marks as most of these are broken down and replaced by new buildings.
A yellow mark represents minimal damage while a green stamp on the front represents that the building is safe and has not sustained damage from the earthquake. Pillars support most of the affected buildings, and in cases, new buildings replaced old worn out buildings.
So, Nepal is as safe as any place in the world to travel in now and also in the coming years.
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