Nepal calls cost to rebuild ‘enormous’

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal’s government will need immense international support as the Himalayan nation begins turning its attention toward reconstruction in the coming weeks, in the wake of the devastating April earthquake, a top official said today.

Nepal is one of the world’s poorest nations, and its economy, largely based on tourism, has been crippled by the earthquake, which left at least 7,200 people dead. While there are no clear estimates yet of how much it will cost to rebuild, it will certainly be enormously expensive.

“In two to three weeks a serious reconstruction package needs to be developed, where we’ll need enormous help from the international community,” said Information Minister Minendra Rijal. “There’s a huge, huge funding gap.”

Soon, he added, the nation will be shifting away from a rescue mode and “will be concentrating more on relief operations.”

The still-rising death toll from the quake, Nepal’s worst in more than 80 years, has reached 7,276, police said.

Everest route won’t be rebuilt in Nepal

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Sherpas in Nepal have refused to rebuild a climbing route on Mount Everest that was destroyed by an earthquake-triggered avalanche more than one week ago, a decision which will likely end this year’s climbing season.

Gyanendra Shrestha, an official at Nepal’s Mountaineering Department, said the Sherpas informed the office today that they were not going to rebuild the route.

It would be the second consecutive year the climbing season has been called off because of deaths on the world’s highest peak. The climbing season was canceled last year after an avalanche in April that killed 16 Sherpa guides.

Mountaineering teams have until the end of the month to climb the peak, but without the route fixed it is not possible for them to make their climbs.