Hetauda. “Let’s talk about it.” Last Wednesday morning, at around 6 am, Sabin Rana Magar was talking to his wife Raveena on the phone from Rasuwa. The work was about to start. Meanwhile, Rabina was preparing to send her five-year-old daughter to school.

Shortly after that, there was a severe flood in Bhotekoshi of Rasuwa. After getting the news of the flood, Raveena called her husband. The phone did not answer. Despite repeated attempts, there was no contact. That conversation between them became the last one between them in the morning.

Sabin, a resident of Bhimphedi Rural Municipality-2 in Makwanpur, has been working as a vehicle driver at the Rasuwa Hydropower Project for the past four years. He returned home after taking a month’s leave and returned to work on August 23 saying that the company had called him in a few days.

According to Sabin’s eldest mother, Nanimaya Rana, he left home on Sunday and reached Rasuwa only on Tuesday. The work had started on Wednesday. “When he came home, he said he had taken leave for a month. After five-six days, the company called him and returned to work,” he said. The work started on the day of the flood. Everything was finished in a moment. ”

After losing contact, the family hoped for some good news for the first two days. After that, the relatives started reaching the hospital and the place where the body was kept in search of Sabin. Finally, the search for the family ended with a body found in Nawalparasi on Monday. It was difficult to identify the body from the face as its condition deteriorated. The tattoo on his left hand became the basis for the family to identify Sabin.

Kashiram Bajyu, ward chairman of Bhimphedi Rural Municipality-2, said that the family identified Sabin’s body on the basis of the tattoo on his hand. Sabin’s father has been in Saudi Arabia for foreign employment for the last 14-15 years. He is survived by his mother, brother, wife Rabina and five-year-old daughter.

While Sabin’s family was hoping to get a call, another family in Dhungedhara of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-5 was also in the same situation. Uddhav Khadka, who had been working as a tipper driver at the Chilime Hydropower Project for the past two years, had taken his wife Niru and daughter Nimisa along with him to Rasuwa.

To make it easier for my daughter to go to school, she rented a room near the school and kept it with the family.

On the morning of August 10, when the scene of the flood in Bhotekoshi started spreading on social media, Uddhav’s relatives in Hetauda started calling. Uddhav’s phone could not be reached. Even his wife Niru’s number could not be reached. All three were lost to him for some time. On August 11, a team from Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City left for Rasuwa to search for the incommunicado citizen.

The team stopped in Kathmandu due to road blockage. The team reached Nuwakot on August 26 after searching for various hospitals in Kathmandu and could not find information about them. There, two names were found in the list of those rescued by Nepal Police helicopter. Niru Khadka and Nimisa Khadka. The mother and daughter were alive. After their rescue, arrangements were made to bring them to Hetauda. After Niru and Nimisa were found alive, the family hoped that Uddhav would also be rescued somewhere and in a safe place, but Uddhav’s name was not found in any rescue list. The family members searched from the hospital to the possible place. Finally, on August 27, his body was found in Nawalparasi.

According to Sushil Ghimire, chairman of Hetauda-5, Uddhav used to come to his room to stay with his family only once a week due to his busy schedule. He was at work when the flood hit. Niru and Nimisa, who were in the room, ran away with others to save their lives. “Uddhav came to his room on Saturday and went to work on Sunday. He rented a room near the school to make it easier for his daughter to send her to school,” said ward chair Ghimire. “His wife and daughter were in the room and managed to save their lives by running away.” Niru and Nimisa returned to Hetauda alive. Uddhav returned.

Sabin had been working in Rasuwa for four years and Uddhav for two years. Suman Gole, 26, of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-15, Bhorle, had taken him to Rasuwa only two months ago hoping for a good income. Before that, Suman, who was working as an operator at Riddhisiddhi Cement Industry in Hetauda-15, used to work as an excavator driver of a hydropower plant in Rasuwa.

On the morning of the flood, he returned after finishing his night’s work. At around 6 in the morning, he spoke to his wife Rebika on the phone. He said that he was sleepy as he had worked all night and would sleep now and call again in the afternoon. According to Suman’s neighbour Nirmala Ghalan, he could not talk to his wife again after that call. “I had gone to work there only two months ago thinking that I would get a good salary,” he said, “I had talked to my wife in the morning after finishing night duty. I had a good night’s sleep, now I will sleep, I will call in the afternoon. The flood swept away me in the morning.” ”

After getting the news of the flood, the family called Suman repeatedly. He could not be contacted. According to Nirmala, the family received information from Suman’s friends that he was sleeping when the flood occurred. He said that the family got information that even though the friends asked him to get up and run away, he could not come out on time. The family’s wait was not pleasant in the end. Suman’s body was also found in Nawalparasi. He is survived by his wife, four-year-old son and brother.

Sabin, Uddhav and Suman’s houses were different. The time they reached Rasuwa was different. The responsibilities were also different. But the reason for taking all three away from home was the same. Employment. The same job connected all three of them to the hydropower project in Rasuwa. Before the floods, all three had contact with their families. Sabin told his wife that he would “talk to her”. Suman said that he would go to bed after his night’s work and call him in the afternoon. Uddhav was also talking to his family till the previous day. After that, the calls stopped ringing.

The family initially waited for the call. Then they searched for the names in the list of those rescued. They went to the hospital. They searched for their loved ones to the place where the bodies were kept. Uddhav’s family had hoped that Niru and Nimisa would return after they found them alive. Sabin’s family finally had to identify the body, which could not even be recognizable from the face, from the tattoos on the hands.

When they left home for work, all three had a plan to return home. Sabin had shortened his leave and returned to work only a few days ago. Suman had reached Rasuwa two months ago in the hope of earning a good income. Uddhav had tried to make the future of the family there by keeping his wife and daughter with him. One morning in Bhotekoshi, those plans were left incomplete. Sabin and Suman, who were separated to call again, did not get a call. His wife and daughter, who were waiting for Uddhav, did not return after saving themselves from the flood. The search for the three people, who had left home for work, finally ended not on the way back home, but at the place where the bodies were identified.