Kathmandu, September 1
Members of the National Assembly have urged the government to declare a day of national mourning following the devastating Bhotekoshi floods in Rasuwa.
The issue was raised during the zero hour of the National Assembly meeting, with lawmakers calling for the government to formally honour those who lost their lives in the disaster.
Nepali Congress lawmaker Yubaraj Sharma urged the government, through the chairperson of the National Assembly, to declare August 26 as a national day of mourning.
“We urge the government, through the respected chairperson, to declare August 26 a national day of mourning,” Sharma said.
He said all sides needed to come together during the disaster and called on the government to focus on search, rescue, relief and rehabilitation.
“What had to happen has happened. Now the government’s attention should be focused on search, rescue, relief and rehabilitation,” he said. “What is needed is result-oriented work and safe management, rather than publicity.”
NCP lawmaker Madan Kumari Shah Garima also called for a national day of mourning.
“I demand that the national flag be lowered for one day and that a day of national mourning be declared,” she said.
She also called for the issue of climate change and its impact on Nepal to be raised internationally, arguing that actions by wealthy and developed countries had contributed to climate change while countries such as Nepal were bearing its consequences.
The devastating floods struck on August 26 after the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa overflowed.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, the bodies of 987 people had been recovered from areas affected by the Bhotekoshi floods as of 9am Tuesday.
The authority reported 27 bodies recovered 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.
A total of 3,916 people remain unaccounted for, while 279 people have been reported injured. So far, 11,814 people have been rescued.
A total of 20,819 security personnel have been deployed for rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts. They include 8,722 from the Nepali Army, 7,894 from Nepal Police and 4,203 from the Armed Police Force.
NCP lawmaker Suresh Kumar Ale Magar also drew Parliament’s attention to the disaster, saying extreme weather events were becoming more frequent because of global warming and climate change driven largely by wealthy and developed countries.
He said poorer and less-developed countries such as Nepal were disproportionately suffering the consequences despite contributing far less to the causes of climate change.
Ale Magar called on the international community to take note of the impact of climate change on vulnerable countries such as Nepal.
