KATHMANDU, Aug 26: Lawmakers have urged the government to step up search, rescue and relief operations following the severe flooding in Rasuwa’s Bhotekoshi River that caused significant loss of life and property.
Speaking during the House of Representatives meeting on Wednesday, lawmakers expressed concern over the damage caused by the flood and called for urgent government action in affected areas including Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Gorkha.
Nepali Congress lawmaker Arjun Nar Singh KC urged the government to conduct rescue and relief operations on a war footing, followed by compensation and rehabilitation for those affected. He said the full extent of the damage was yet to be assessed and called for political parties to work together during the disaster.
Karnali provincial government continues search, rescue and reli...
He also said more than 12 concrete bridges had been damaged in Nuwakot.
Congress lawmaker and Rasuwa representative Mohan Acharya called on the government to declare a national disaster and intensify rescue and relief efforts. With road networks disrupted, he said, helicopters were the only viable means of reaching many affected areas.
UML lawmaker Pushpa Raj Kandel said the disaster had caused significant human, physical and psychological impacts and urged the government to focus on rescue, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker Basumaya Tamang said the floods had damaged not only homes and farmland but also nationally important bridges, border customs infrastructure and hydropower projects. She urged the government to immediately deploy helicopters to search for missing people and provide free food and temporary shelter to those displaced.
Nepali Communist Party lawmaker Yubaraj Dulal called for private helicopters to be mobilized to rescue people working at the Sindhupalchok border point.
Rastriya Prajatantra Party lawmaker Saraswati Lama also urged the government to prioritize the rescue of affected residents and the search for those missing, while lawmakers Sita Thapaliya of the Nepali Congress and Ganga Devi Shrestha of the UML called for immediate evacuation of affected people to safe locations.
