Rolpa, September 8
Four members of a family from Rolpa have been missing since the Bhotekoshi River flood in Rasuwa. The family of 40-year-old Kul Prasad Budha Magar of Thanekot, Ward 6 of Paribartan Rural Municipality, has been out of contact since the flood.
Kul Prasad, his 36-year-old wife Meena Gharti Magar, 21-year-old son Deep Budha Magar and four-year-old daughter Khushi Budha Magar have all been missing.
Kul Prasad’s family had been living in Timure Bazaar, Rasuwa, where they had been running a meat shop for around nine years.
After losing contact with his brother’s family following the flood, Kul Prasad’s younger brother Bhim Prakash Budha Magar has been desperately searching for them. Carrying photographs of his brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece, Bhim Prakash travelled to Chitwan on Bhadra 13, hoping they might still be alive.
“I still hope I will find them alive until they are found. I spent eight days searching, hoping I might find them somewhere,” he said. During his search, he travelled to Nawalparasi, Chitwan, Nuwakot and Kathmandu, visiting hospitals, morgues, riverbanks, riverbeds and as many of the forested areas as he could, he said. “As I showed their photographs, I was shown many badly disfigured bodies. There was nothing recognisable among them. How could I identify them as my family members? How could I believe they were them?” he said.
After exhausting all possible avenues, he returned home empty-handed on the eighth day, Bhadra 20. However, he still cannot shake the hope that he might find his family somewhere. Before returning home, he left a DNA sample in Kathmandu.
“I gave a DNA sample before returning, hoping it might help identify them,” he said. “I was told it could take two or three months for the report to come.” Despite everything, Bhim Prakash still hopes to find his family alive. “How can I simply accept that they are gone? I feel they are still alive. I want the state to search for them,” he said.
Initially, 32 people from Rolpa were reported missing following the Rasuwa flood. Of them, eight have since been located, and contact has been established. Twenty-four people remain missing.
