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Nepal's "Miracle Baby" now attending play school

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ANI Kathmandu [Nepal]
Last Updated : Apr 24 2017 | 7:22 PM IST

Kathmandu [Nepal], April 24 (ANI): Rashmila Awal is a lucky mother, who got her six months old baby alive after he remained buried for 22 hours in the debris post the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal in April 2015.

Rashmila's only son, Sonish known as the "Miracle Baby" for surviving under the debris for such a long time.

Sonish, now two and half, goes to a day care centre where he plays with other children.

Rashmila was fearful about the psychological status of her son but with time she says he has turned out to be quite clever.

"Now, he can catch words spoken by others, cannot say about the future but it is said that the child which is clever in childhood, will be clever in the future too," she said.

Teachers of the day care have also said the miracle baby is behaving normally.

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"He is a bit aggressive, he is different from others. He cried a lot for about two weeks; he didn't take toys and cried a lot. But now, he goes on beating others and is somewhat possessive," Dharma Laxmi Sujaku, a teacher at the day care center, said.

Meanwhile, reconstruction activity in Nepal continues at a snail's pace.

The earthquake of 7.8 magnitude claimed the lives of about 9,000 people and left 22, 000 people injured and over half a million houses were fully or partially damaged.

Awal's house is one of the houses flattened by the tremor. They are now living in a rented house in Bhaktapur, Nepal's oldest city.

The family is barred from receiving compensation from the government due to lack of land ownership certificate.

"We have to make the land ownership certificate at first, the brothers have to go together for it, and then, we will get the compensation amount from the government," Rashmila said.

Apart from the Awal family, millions of families in Nepal are still waiting for compensation.

The governmental body which is responsible for the reconstruction claims it is working on claims.

"I think it is prevalent in every country. If you see the example of Italy, every nine months, there is change of government, in Japan, every two years, there is change in the government. So, it doesn't matter if the government is changed," Dr. Govinda Raj Pokhrel, Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority of Nepal told ANI.

"You should see how the institution has been created, how many hurdles it is facing in co-ordination and collaboration and how perpetuating mechanisms are there which will help us for the fast delivery. So, in that aspect, we have failed to design the modality to co-ordinate and fulfill the commitment it was made in the act," Pokhrel added.

The International Conference on Nepal's Reconstruction held in capital Kathmandu on June 2015 witnessed the pledge of 4.4 billion dollars in the form of a grant.

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First Published: Apr 24 2017 | 7:22 PM IST

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