Ranjha (Banke), September 6
Sixteen people in Banke district have provided DNA samples to help identify bodies recovered after the Bhotekoshi flash flood.
Relatives of people who have been missing since the flood provided blood samples to help identify bodies that are in an unrecognisable state and have been recovered and kept at various locations across the country.
Many people from the district have gone missing since the flood swept away infrastructure, houses and settlements along the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli corridor on August 26.
DNA samples were collected from 16 people in the district, DSP Pratit Singh Rathaur confirmed.
For DNA matching with the recovered bodies, blood samples are collected from the biological father, mother and a son or daughter of the missing person. The samples are then sent to the Nepal Police Central Forensic Science Laboratory.
Anlal Rokaya, a resident of Nepalgunj-20, said he hoped to identify the bodies of his brother, sister-in-law and son after providing samples for DNA matching.
Rokaya lost his 19-year-old son Dipak, 53-year-old brother Sher Singh and 56-year-old sister-in-law Bishnumati. They went missing at the same time in the Bhotekoshi flood.
Banke district has reported 23 people missing in the flood. So far, three people from the district who were found dead have been identified, while 32 others were rescued alive, according to Chief District Officer Dil Kumar Tamang.
The district has contributed Rs 2.4 million to the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund. Various social organisations, schools, business firms and individuals voluntarily contributed to the fund as humanitarian assistance for people in need following the catastrophic floods.
