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🇳🇵 Nepal /Disasters & Emergencies

Dhunche has relief supplies. Getting aid to flood-hit Rasuwa villages is the problem

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Relief supplies are accumulating in Dhunche, but destroyed roads have left flood-hit villages in Rasuwa dependent on scarce helicopter flights for delivery.
  • Local officials say food is running out in isolated communities, while shops in less-affected areas also face shortages because road links remain blocked.
  • The government says 173 flights from Rasuwa and Nuwakot have transported relief and essential goods, but airlifting cannot replace road access indefinitely.

Dhunche has rice, solar equipment and other relief supplies. What it does not have is a reliable way to send them to villages cut off by the Bhotekoshi floods.

Mansing Tamang, ward chairman of Uttargaya-4, has waited in Dhunche for three days for a helicopter to carry 250 sacks of rice and other supplies to Mailung and nearby settlements. The road to his ward disappeared in the floods on August 26, leaving an airlift as his only option.

My turn for a chopper flight has yet to come. I have been told that food is running out in the village. We have enough supplies to send, but they are stuck here in Dhunche.

· Mansing TamangThe Uttargaya-4 ward chairman described waiting for a helicopter to deliver rice to isolated villages.

“My turn for a chopper flight has yet to come,” Tamang told Kantipur by phone. “I have been told that food is running out in the village. We have enough supplies to send, but they are stuck here in Dhunche.”

Relief trucks continue to arrive from Kathmandu and Bidur, and helicopters and drones are carrying aid where they can. But limited flight capacity means only a few locations can be served at a time. Sang Lama Tamang, chairman of Aamachhodingmo-1, said villagers had repeatedly called to warn that food was running out while he pressed authorities for a helicopter.

We are completely cut off because there are no roads. We have not been able to get a helicopter. Even those who can afford food cannot find anything to buy.

· Sang Lama TamangThe Aamachhodingmo-1 ward chairman described shortages in communities cut off by flooding.

“We are completely cut off because there are no roads. We have not been able to get a helicopter,” he said. “Even those who can afford food cannot find anything to buy.” Shops in villages that escaped the worst flooding are also running out of stock. Dolma Yangjen Tamang of Syaphrubesi said many had already closed.

Urken Chiring Lama, chairman of Gosainkunda-1, eventually received some relief after waiting four days. He said supplies were delivered on a rotational basis because the roads had been washed away. He travelled to Kathmandu to collect 40 solar panels and batteries, but the journey took 12 hours only to reach Dhunche. “There is no road from Dhunche to the wards,” he said. “Our suffering will remain until a Bailey bridge is built at Syaphru. We cannot depend on helicopters to deliver relief indefinitely.”

Our suffering will remain until a Bailey bridge is built at Syaphru. We cannot depend on helicopters to deliver relief indefinitely.

· Urken Chiring LamaThe Gosainkunda-1 ward chairman said a permanent crossing was needed after roads were destroyed.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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