Rescue and relief operations continue in Bhotekoshi flood-hit area: Home Secretary

Kathmandu: Rescue and relief operations in areas affected by the Bhotekoshi floods are continuing, Home Secretary Kedarnath Sharma told a thematic parliamentary committee.

In the meeting of the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee under House of Representatives on Monday, Home Secretary Sharma said that alongside rescue efforts, the government is working to manage the needs of the flood-affected people.

Sharma briefed the parliamentarians that a total of Rs 135 million has been dispatched from the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund for the affected areas across Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Chitwan districts among others.

During the meeting, the Home Secretary observed that Nepal would need to seek around Rs 723 billion in compensation from the international community under the principle of climate justice, given the scale and intensity losses caused by climate-induced disasters. He presented the fact-based statistic and said that relief distribution is being carried out for the flood survivors.

The Home Secretary reiterated that search and rescue operations are continuing in the flood-hit areas. The Committee members deliberated on issues related to disaster management, protection of the human rights of affected citizens in connection with the devastating Bhotekoshi floods in Rasuwa district and climate justice among others.

During the meeting, Committee Chairperson Samiksha Sapkota inquired how the government was addressing the economic, social and long-term needs of flood survivors.

Similarly, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) Executive Chief Dr Dharmaraj Upreti presented a progress report on ongoing rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts. According to him, 5,786 people remain missing while 1,451 bodies have been recovered since the flood struck on August 26.

Likewise, he informed that further 1,292 bodies have been safely preserved underground and 111 bodies have been identified and handed over to their families. DNA testing is being carried out on 3,685 bodies, said Upreti.

The number of holding centres, where the flood survivors were sheltering, has been reduced from 34 to 20 as, he explained, the focus shifts increasingly toward managing the needs of survivors. He appraised the Committee that the government is operating temporary learning centres for children, providing psychosocial counselling and extending special protection to children and postpartum women.

Also briefing the lawmakers, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment Dr Maheshwar Dhakal said that they were doing homework in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present Nepal’s case for climate justice to the international community. He added that preparation is afoot to revise the National Climate Policy, 2019. Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Man Bahadur Aryal, clarified that currently there was no plan to introduce a separate law on disaster management.

Lawmakers such as Bhumika Shrestha, Balawati Sharma and Smriti Senchuri among others had raised questions about disaster management and the search and rescue efforts, relief distribution and rehabilitation operation.

RSS