उमेर (Age):
44
ब्यावसाय/सम्बन्धन (Profession/affiliation): मिडिया क्षेत्र (media sector) / गैर मिडिया क्षेत्र (non-media sector)
गैर मिडिया क्षेत्र (non-media sector)
बैसाख १२ गते भुकम्प जाँदा तपाईं कहाँ हुनुहुन्थ्यो र के गर्दै हुनुहुन्थ्यो? (Please describe where you were and what you were doing when the earthquake hit Nepal on 25 April 2015?)
I was invited to join shopping on the occasion of the marriage of my brother-in-law. The wedding was scheduled for the first week of May. Therefore, I had taken morning meal early despite the day being an official holiday. I had to reach New Road at 11:00 AM. I was driving the scooter and my youngest son Saujanya was behind me.
I reached in front of Hanumandhoka Durbar Square and parked my scooter at the public parking beside Nepal Bank Limited Head Office at the vicinity of Gorkhapatra Sansthan, the oldest newspaper establshment of Nepal. I went to Bishalbazar Supermarket, the first supermarket of Nepal famous for various goods, from clothes to ornaments. My sister-in-law and brother in-laws were already there with their two children. In the meantime, my father-in-law and mother-in-law appeared there and my wife and my elder son Saubhagya reached there just after five minutes.
We decided to split into two groups, male groups for shopping men’s ware and female groups for shopping female clothes. Therefore, I myself, my father-in-law, brother in-law, his son, my two sons drove to Bagbazar, one of the famous markets for shirting and suiting and other fashionable clothes. It took us about fifteen minutes to reach Aradhana Complex with its famous show-room of clothes, shirting and suiting.
We parked our vehicles at the parking area of the complex and entered into Hill Top Tailor beside Shrestha Tailoring showroom, branded for the finest quality of shirting and suiting. In the meantime, my brother-in-law, who was getting married, joined and greeted us. We asked the shopkeeper to show the children’s ware first. The shop assistant showed different types of clothes and asked us to choose the cloth.
It was around 11:55 that I noticed as if some wooden plank was being shaken by some children. Immediately, the whole building began to tremble. We caught each others’ hand and stood under the big beam of the shop. The items of the shop began to fall. The quake was very strong and it was almost difficult for us to hold our hands against the marble floor. After about one minute, the big termor slowed and we rushed to the road near Padma Kanya Campus.
We noticed a number of bikeriders fall on the road due to quake. The stuff of the street food sellers was scattered here and there. We felt a series of shocks trembling the entire area. We ran into the premises of Padma Kanya campus at the open space in front of the main building. Hostel girls, local shop keepers, and people of the area were rushing to the area.
The earth began to tremble again and we again held each others’ hand and began praying to God. Explosion-like sounds could be heard and dust particles were visible in the nearby sky. We tried to call others but our mobile phones were not working. We were very much worried about our family members as there was no communication at all.
After an hour, I got a call on my mobile and got a message that all the group members were ok and sitting in an open space in front of Bir Hosipital. I also got the information that Nepal’s historic Dharhahara tower, built by the first Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa, had already collapsed with a big bang, hitting surrounding areas and taking the lives of many people. The aftershocks were continuing and we decided to move towards the open space near the an open theatre to see other group members secure and safe. We began to run.
On the way, running towards Ratna Park. we heard that the ancient temples of Durbar Square, recognized as UNICEF World Heritage sites, had already collapsed. The building of the oldest school of Nepal, Durbar High School, was already damaged and sirens of the ambulances could be heard and movement of security forces were could be all around the road.
I had heard about the experiences of horror and terror of the Great Earthquake of 1934, measuring more than 8.5 on the rector scale. I had heard these stories as a fairy tale. I had also experienced myself the small scale earthquake of 1989. However, such a terrifying experience of the great earthquake of April 25, 2015 has now been imprinted in my mind so deeply that it haunts again and again.
भुकुम्प जाने बित्तिकै तपाईंले कस्तो प्रतिक्रिया (मानसिक, शारीरिक) प्रकट गर्नु भयो र के गर्नु भयो? (Please describe your immediate mental and physical reaction, and your response following the quake.
Stated above.
त्यतिखेर तपाइलाई सब भन्दा महत्वपूर्ण कुरा (सरोकार) के लागेको थियो? (What were your most important concerns at that time?)
To save my life and of my family.
त्यस बेला तपाईंले के-कस्ता सुचना खोज्नु भयो? तपाईंले आवश्यक सुचनाहरु पाउनु भयो त? (What types of information were you looking for at that time? Did you have access to all the information you needed?)
Tried to connect mobile but failed.
रेडियो, टेलिभिजन, समाचारपत्र, अनलाईन जस्ता समाचार स्रोतहरु तपाइलाई जानकारी दिन कत्तिको उपयोगी साबित भए? मिडियाका कुन पक्ष कमजोर, कुन पक्ष सबल रहे? (How helpful were news media such as radio, television, newspapers, online news portals, etc in informing you immeditely after the quake and the days following it? Please note their strengths as well as weaknesses).
Very useful but some media created chaos and fear by disseminating terrorizing news full of horror and threats.
भुकम्प पछिको हफ्ता कसरी बिताउनु भो? (Please describe how you spent the week following the quake– what you did, etc.).
Two days in tent with family, then joined office work.
त्यो हफ्ता तपाईंको सबैभन्दा स्मरणीय कुरा? (Any memorable facts or incidents during the week, following the quake?)
The memorable incidents were the rushing of nurses, doctors and patients from Bir Hospital to Tundikhel and overwhelming sound of ambulances carrying injured persons
बैसाख १२ गतेको भुकम्पवाट हामीले के पाठ सिक्नु पर्छ? (What are some of the lessons that we should take away from the 25 April 2015 quake in Nepal?)
We should be prepared for such a disaaster. There should be proper awareness and sensitization among people.
If you haven’t shared your testimonial on Nepal earthquake 2015, you can do so here.