उमेर (Age):
36
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 at home at the time of the massive quake and was ready to go out. I was just hooked to a nice documentary showing on TV.
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).
My immediate mental reaction was to protect my head. And I stood under the door. There was nothing to hide my head inside the room. I stood for nearly 25 seconds, felt the vibration continuously, and and the walls of the house were shattered. Then I decided to get away, covered my head with own hands. I had an experience about the quake in Kathmandu before. And thought it should have stopped after a second, but it did not like in the past.
त्यतिखेर तपाईंलाई सब भन्दा महत्वपूर्ण कुरा (सरोकार) के लागेको थियो? (What were your most important concerns at that time?)
I didn’t have any important concern at that time. I was totally blank in my mind about what to do next.
त्यस बेला तपाईंले के-कस्ता सूचना खोज्नु भयो? आफूलाई आवश्यक सूचनाहरु पाउनु भयो त? (What types of information were you looking for at that time? Did you have access to all the information you needed?)
I was looking for the information about my mother. My cellphone was trapped inside the house. I didn’t get any access to all the information that I needed.
रेडियो, टेलिभिजन, समाचारपत्र, अनलाइन जस्ता समाचार स्रोतहरु तपाईंलाई 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 immediately after the quake and the days following it? Please note their strengths as well as weaknesses).
I was doing nothing much while staying in a temporary shelter so it would not make much sense to arbitrarily explain the points of media strengths and weaknesses. After a week, I left the devastated Valley for West Bengal where I stayed for a couple of weeks.
भुकम्प पछिको हफ्ता कसरी बिताउनु भो? (Please describe how you spent the week following the quake– what you did, etc.).
I spent nearly a week at the temporary tent made by all of us. It accommodated more than 20 persons. During the day time, I rode a bike and visited some devastated areas where many number of houses had collapsed, there was rubble all over the road, and it was a horrible scene.
त्यो हफ्ता तपाईंको सबैभन्दा स्मरणीय कुरा? (Any memorable facts or incidents during the week following the quake?)
The fact was that I stayed with many people in a group, and aftershocks continued. One early morning, because of an aftershock, I had to run away waking up from a deep sleep. Because I was alert at that time, everyone got up and fled within a second. The incident was ridiculous, indeed.
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?)
The lesson for me after the massive quake is that we should build in accordance with construction rules, follow the advice of architects, engineers. Let’s prioritize safety, build strong foundations, and not only increase the height of buildings.
If you haven’t shared your testimonial on Nepal earthquake 2015, you can do so here.
If you haven’t shared your testimonial on Nepal earthquake 2015, you can do so here.