Government stands as guardian to every affected citizen: PM Shah

Kathmandu: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has expressed the hope that the nation would be successful in overcoming the current crisis through our solidarity and collective efforts.

Taking to his social media account this evening, Prime Minister Shah has noted that the Government of Nepal stands as a guardian of every affected citizen in resolving the crisis created by the August 26 Bhotekoshi River floods in Rasuwa and beyond.

The Prime Minister has expressed his commitment to provide relief to every affected person and to continue the reconstruction and rehabilitation work until the desired outcome is achieved.

“For the past five days, our country has been facing an unimaginable and heartbreaking natural disaster. It is becoming increasingly challenging to collect a complete account of the loss of life and property caused by the severe floods in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa. However, despite this task becoming challenging due to adverse weather, complex geography and constant risks, we are working with a determination to save the lives of our citizens,” Prime Minister Shah said. “There is nothing greater than the pain of losing our loved ones, homes and property. The Government is extremely serious and sensitive in this sad hour when its citizens are in crisis. We are working day and night to save lives and provide relief to every citizen in the affected areas by mobilizing the entire state machinery on a war footing without making any excuses. Providing security and guardianship to citizens is the highest responsibility of the government and we are committed to fulfilling it with full dedication.”

Despite the adverse weather and difficult geographical conditions, 9,435 people have been rescued from the affected area by air and land and taken to safer locations. Altogether, 20,618 security personnel from the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force Nepal have been deployed in the disaster-hit zone.

He said that 279 people have been rescued from the disaster-hit hydropower project area by Nepal Army helicopters, with 250 people rescued from the Upper Trishuli-I area of Rasuwa in two days.

Chinese and Korean expert teams are continuing rescue efforts in this area in coordination with the Nepal Army, and the Chinese team has also scanned three kilometers inside the tunnel, with no one found so far.

As of a few moments ago, 156 people have been discharged from different hospitals, while the health condition of other injured citizens is improving. A team of doctors has been deployed from Kathmandu for treatment and psychological counseling in the affected areas, and the process of resuming services at health institutions that were disrupted in the affected areas is ongoing. Relief materials, including rescue tools and equipment, have been made available from neighboring countries, India and China.

The government has already delivered relief supplies to various safe zones in the affected areas. The relief materials collected at the Tribhuvan Airport warehouse in Kathmandu, the District Administration Office in Kathmandu, and the Nepal Police Disaster Training Center in Samakhusi have been transported by air and land to the Nepal Army’s Maithil Barracks in Battar, Nuwakot, and Uttargaya, Rasuwa. According to Prime Minister Shah, communication services have been resumed in most of the affected areas while efforts are being made to connect the affected areas by bringing alternative roads into operation in the flood-affected areas.

However, the alternative roads are being affected by the landslide that occurred last night due to the rising water level in Bhotekoshi. In addition, the Kathmandu-Muglin road has been disrupted due to erosion in the Krishnabhir area.

State mechanisms are trying to bring the road back into operation as soon as possible. With the bodies of 781 people who lost their lives due to the floods recovered so far, the work of handing over the identified bodies to their relatives is underway.

The process of managing the unidentified bodies underground has begun after completing the due legal process and preserving DNA and other evidence to support identification.

RSS