Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The death toll from the flash floods in Nepal rose to 1,295 on Friday as more bodies were recovered from affected areas, while two men were pulled out alive from a tunnel at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project after being trapped for nine days.
The floods were triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26 and devastated towns and villages in northern and central Nepal. Search and rescue operations are continuing for an estimated 5,000 missing people, while 13,093 people have been rescued so far.
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According to Nepal Police, 1,293 bodies have been recovered from eight districts across the country. These include 359 bodies in Chitwan, 221 in Nawalparasi East, 212 in Nawalparasi West, 186 in Nuwakot, 140 in Rasuwa, 72 in Gorkha, 65 in Dhading and 38 in Tanahu. With two flood victims dying in two different hospitals in Kathmandu on Friday, the death toll rose to 1,295.
The two survivors rescued from the tunnel were identified as Kabir Maharjan, 45, a mechanical supervisor on the project, and Sanjay Sah, 30, a foreman, according to the Public Relations Directorate of the Nepal Army. Raja Ram Basnet, spokesperson for the Nepali Army, said Maharjan was flown to Nepal Army Hospital in Chhauni, Kathmandu, and his condition is critical, while Sah is being treated at Trishuli hospital in Nuwakot.
Sah, who is from Saptari district in Madhesh province, told security personnel that he had been chanting the Hare Krishna mantra while trapped inside the tunnel. “I was chanting Hare Krishna mahamantra for the past nine days,” he said shortly after being brought out safely. Maharjan’s wife Hira Shobha said her husband had been given a “second life” and thanked the rescuers. “He has returned with a second life. We are extremely happy,” she was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post. “We had been waiting. I am now going to the hospital to see my husband.”
Meanwhile, the sixth and seventh relief flights from India carrying 21.5 tonnes of relief material arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday night. India’s Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava said in a post on X, “India’s support to Nepal’s relief efforts for Rasuwa flash flood continues: 6th and 7th relief flights (C-130Js) arrived in Kathmandu tonight carrying 21.5 tonnes of relief assistance, including forensic kits and medical supplies.” He added, “These materials were handed over to Nepal, and will help strengthen ongoing Nepali relief and rescue efforts and support communities affected by Rasuwa floods.”
Around 600 children remain unaccounted for in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts. The Kathmandu Post, citing figures compiled by local Education Development and Coordination Units, local governments and educational institutions, reported that about 280 children are missing in Rasuwa, while between 300 and 350 remain unaccounted for in neighbouring Nuwakot.
Surya Bahadur Khatri, head of the Nuwakot Education Development and Coordination Unit, said, “We are actively liaising with headmasters to collect verified data on missing students, though school heads are struggling to provide exact figures due to broken communications.” He added, “Although a few missing students have been located, new reports of unaccounted-for children continue to arrive from various schools. We estimate that at least 300 pupils are missing in our district.” In Bidur Municipality of Nuwakot alone, around 250 children have been missing since the floods struck, according to Navaraj Sapkota, school inspector at the municipality’s education unit. “The situation on the ground is deeply distressing. In some cases, we have located surviving parents who cannot find their children, while in other instances, surviving students are searching for missing parents,” Sapkota said. Bidur has 170 educational institutions, including 142 community schools and 28 private schools.
In Rasuwa, Durga Prasad Silwal, chief of the local education unit, said official verification is under way but preliminary records show that 280 students are currently missing across the district. Education units also confirmed that 22 teachers and school staff members remain missing across Rasuwa and Nuwakot. Several teachers from Dhading and Gorkha who had travelled to Rasuwa on pilgrimage were also caught in the floods and remain missing. According to the Kathmandu Post, Rasuwa reported 16 missing teachers, including 15 from community schools and one from a private institution, while Nuwakot confirmed six missing teachers. Although several bodies have been recovered in downstream districts, authorities have not yet verified the exact number of identified students or teachers. Ministry of Education data showed that the floods affected 22 schools across Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading, with 12 institutions completely destroyed.
Separately, Nepal’s government has announced a special relief package for businesses hit by the floods, offering concessions, loan restructuring and cheaper credit, while authorities began work on relocating settlements destroyed in the disaster. The Kathmandu Post reported that the Cabinet on Thursday described the business measures as the first phase of its recovery package. Businesses whose commercial vehicles, transport equipment, plants, machinery, tools or other equipment were destroyed beyond repair or swept away will be allowed to import replacements without paying customs duty. The concession will also apply to goods on which customs duty had already been paid but which were destroyed before reaching their destination, with replacement goods to be imported through any customs office within six months.
The report said provincial and local governments would also be asked to provide temporary concessions on property and business taxes, building permit fees and other local charges for affected businesses and properties. The government has directed Nepal Rastra Bank to facilitate restructuring or rescheduling of loans taken by borrowers affected by the floods. The Insurance Authority has been asked to speed up claims by allowing insurers to deploy surveyors through simplified procedures, and insurers will have to provide advance payments of up to 50 per cent of estimated losses based on preliminary assessments. As Nepal continues rescue operations and recovery work, the floods have left heavy loss of life, widespread damage and hundreds still unaccounted for.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
