KATHMANDU, Sept 11: The main building inside Singha Durbar currently looks like a ruin. However, government employees have begun reporting to offices scattered across the complex since Thursday morning. Even so, the area still appeared largely deserted on Thursday, as it had on Wednesday.
The buildings housing the Cabinet and Prime Minister’s Office, the Home Ministry, the Finance Ministry, and the Agriculture Ministry were completely burned. Most other ministries—including the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, the Ministry of Urban Development, and the Ministry of Labor—did not suffer major damage. Minor damage, however, is visible in all buildings within Singha Durbar.
“There isn’t a single building in Singha Durbar that hasn’t sustained some kind of damage,” said one government employee. Another employee visiting the complex on Thursday noted that although the fire in the main building on Tuesday has been extinguished, many rooms inside remain damaged.
Notably, copper wiring installed during reconstruction after the 2015 (2072 BS) earthquake continues to smolder inside.
Helipad to be constructed inside Singha Durbar
In a “Public Policy Dialogue” group created by government employees, civil servants have begun a campaign to “clean up Singha Durbar.” However, actual cleanup work has not yet started. The condition of government vehicles burned inside the complex is particularly distressing. “The vehicles were completely destroyed, beyond repair. It is painful even to look at them,” said another employee visiting Singha Durbar.
According to Kali Prasad Rijal, spokesperson for the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, employees in the complex have been asked to “come when called.”
Staff working in ministries whose offices were completely destroyed have been instructed to work from home. All chimneys inside Singha Durbar remain closed. Burnt vehicles and shattered glass fragments are scattered throughout the complex, making immediate cleanup essential, another employee said.
Govt Websites Not Operational
By Thursday afternoon, the websites of the Cabinet and Prime Minister’s Office, the Home Ministry, and the Finance Ministry were still down. In contrast, the websites of the Labor and Urban Development ministries, among others, were functional. Websites of ministries with system damage remain offline. According to an employee, since Tuesday, technical staff have not been allowed inside Singha Durbar.
Singha Durbar houses all ministries except the Ministry of Health, along with the Cabinet and Prime Minister’s Office. Various commissions and government media offices are also located within the complex. According to an employee from the Ministry of Federal Affairs, nearly 6,000 staff work across the offices and agencies inside Singha Durbar.
