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Nepal MPs call for national mourning over Bhotekoshi floods
🇳🇵 Nepal /Disasters & Emergencies

Nepal MPs call for national mourning over Bhotekoshi floods

From OnlineKhabar English · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Nepalese lawmakers urged the government to declare August 26 a national day of mourning after the Bhotekoshi River overflowed in Rasuwa.
  • Authorities reported 987 recovered bodies, 3,916 people unaccounted for and 279 injured as of Tuesday morning, while 11,814 people had been rescued.
  • More than 20,000 security personnel were deployed for search, rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations.

Nepalese lawmakers have asked the government to lower the national flag and declare a day of mourning after floods along the Bhotekoshi River killed people across several districts.

The request came during the National Assembly’s zero-hour session. Nepali Congress lawmaker Yubaraj Sharma proposed August 26 as the mourning day and urged the government to concentrate on search, rescue, relief and rehabilitation rather than publicity.

We urge the government, through the respected chairperson, to declare August 26 a national day of mourning.

— Yubaraj SharmaThe Nepali Congress lawmaker made the appeal during the National Assembly’s zero-hour session.

“What had to happen has happened. Now the government’s attention should be focused on search, rescue, relief and rehabilitation,” Sharma said. He called for “result-oriented work and safe management, rather than publicity.” NCP lawmaker Madan Kumari Shah Garima also demanded that the national flag be lowered for one day.

What had to happen has happened. Now the government’s attention should be focused on search, rescue, relief and rehabilitation.

— Yubaraj SharmaHe urged authorities to prioritize the emergency response.

The floods struck on August 26 after the Bhotekoshi River overflowed in Rasuwa. According to Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 987 bodies had been recovered from affected areas by 9 a.m. Tuesday. The toll included 27 bodies in Rasuwa, 95 in Nuwakot, 55 in Dhading, 65 in Gorkha, 38 in Tanahun, 216 in Nawalparasi East, 170 in Nawalparasi West and 321 in Chitwan.

The authority said 3,916 people remained unaccounted for and 279 had been injured. Rescue teams had brought 11,814 people to safety, while 20,819 security personnel were involved in rescue, relief and rehabilitation work. The deployment included members of the Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force.

What is needed is result-oriented work and safe management, rather than publicity.

— Yubaraj SharmaHe criticized a focus on publicity during the disaster response.

Lawmakers also linked the disaster to climate change. Shah Garima and NCP lawmaker Suresh Kumar Ale Magar said poorer countries such as Nepal were bearing disproportionate consequences from climate change despite contributing less to its causes. Ale Magar called on the international community to take note of the impact on vulnerable countries.

I demand that the national flag be lowered for one day and that a day of national mourning be declared.

— Madan Kumari Shah GarimaThe NCP lawmaker separately called for an official mourning day.
About this summary

Originally published by OnlineKhabar English in English. Translated, 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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