Authorities in Kathmandu mark houses unfit to live in

The aftermath of the devastating earthquake that rattled Nepal on April 25 has left a many homeless. Though some people have started moving into their houses, a few are still homeless -- not by choice, but by compulsion.

The officials, consisting of architects, have begun inspection of houses and marking it as red, yellow and green, after taking a stock of the damage caused by the quake which measured 7.9 on Richter Scale.

The quake has killed more than 6,000 people, left over 10,000 injured and millions displaced.

A house marked red denotes it is unsafe to live in, yellow indicates towards the need for maintenance before moving in and houses marked green are safe.

Dhiraj Pandey, 58, whose house is in the middle-class neighbourhood of Gyaneshwor in Kathmandu has been marked red, spoke to the visiting IANS correspondent.

"I don't know what to do. We have been told that it is not safe to step inside the house," Pandey, who owns a petrol pump, said.

His 11-room house has developed many cracks following the quake and aftershocks.

Pandey said the floor seems to be sinking on being stepped, which makes it very dangerous to step inside the house adding that he was outside when the quake struck.

His family -- wife, two kids, mother, father -- is, however, safe. Besides, his maid and her daughter were also fortunate to survive the quake.

After the tremblor, the entire family has put up on the porch of the house by erecting a tent.

This is my bedroom now, Dhiraj said, pointing towards his car.

"Our house was moving back and forth when the quake struck. Even when we were rushing outside, we felt the ground moving," said his wife Sunita.

Her mother-in-law is wheel-chair borne and her 89-year-old father-in-law is also facing a tough time after the quake.

"Since the condition of the house is so bad, we have been asked to bring out only one luggage at a time. After the quake, we dropped down our bedding from the balcony," she said.

(Shweta Sharma can be contacted at shweta.s@ians.in)