Kathmandu. The government has decided to intensify ‘search and recovery’ in the flood-affected areas of the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa.

The 37th meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Executive Committee presided over by Home Minister Sudhan Gurung took a decision to this effect after reviewing the adverse situation caused by floods, search and rescue, relief and temporary settlements.

A large number of scientific forensic tests are being done to identify the mutilated bodies of the people who died in the floods. At present, the process of DNA testing of a total of 3,685 forensic samples is going on in two forensic science laboratories.

A total of 1,957 samples have been received at the Nepal Police Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Samakhusi and 1,728 samples at the National Forensic Science Laboratory for testing. International expert teams from various friendly countries have also come to Nepal to expedite the scientific examination and identification of dead bodies and remains.

A total of 19 technical teams from India, 15 from China, three DNA experts from South Korea, three fingerprint experts from the United States of America and two fingerprint experts from Singapore have been deployed in Nepal.

A total of 5,285 people have gone missing so far due to the Rasuwa-Bhotekoshi floods and monsoon-induced disasters. A total of 1,454 bodies and human remains have been recovered from the flood-affected areas so far, out of which only 112 have been identified. Looking at the nature of the bodies and body parts found, 585 are male, 336 female and 533 partially human body parts are unidentified.

Out of the 1,451 bodies and remains recovered so far, 1,292 bodies have been safely managed underground. Also, 112 bodies that have been identified and other processes have been handed over to the families.

Similarly, the meeting reviewed the search, rescue and relief efforts made so far by the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force Nepal among other teams deployed in the flood-affected areas since August 26.

The government has decided to focus the resources on search and recovery as the chances of rescuing the survivors were becoming less and the rescue teams deployed in the area and the District Security Committee also recommended to postpone the current phase of search and rescue.

According to the decision, the recovery of bodies and structures will now be carried out instead of regular rescue in areas other than in certain areas where the most sensitive and urgent search and rescue needs to be done. The meeting seriously reviewed the complexities created by the existing legal provisions in the case of the people disappeared in the disaster and the obstacles in the distribution of relief.

Although the existing Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, 2074 BS and Regulations, 2076 BS has provisions for providing minimum relief to the family members of the deceased.

According to Clause 40 of the Civil Code, 2074 BS, a person who has been missing for 12 consecutive years without any notice in normal circumstances is considered dead.

However, the same code states that in the case of a person who has attained the age of 80 years on the basis of special circumstances and age, the court can declare the death only after 5 years of disappearance, in the case of a soldier deployed in the war site, four years after the end of the war, and in the case of an accident in an air, ship or motor vehicle, only after the completion of 3 years from the date of the accident.

There is a provision that even if such a declaration is made by the court, if the concerned person returns alive, the judicial declaration can be annulled. In addition, Rule 17 of the National Identity Card and Registration Rules, 2077 has made it mandatory for the local registrar to register the incident without the verification of the authorized body in case of a missing person or a relative is established.

The Executive Committee has decided to provide a special administrative solution to ensure that the families of the victims are not deprived of immediate relief and social security due to these lengthy procedures and restrictions of the existing law. According to this, the concerned local level with the permanent address of the people disappeared in the floods will certify the details and send it to the concerned District Administration Office. After this, the District Administration Office will re-certify the details and send it to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. After receiving the details, the committee has decided to proceed with the relief and other legal processes for the families of the disappeared citizens as per the special procedure set by the NRA.

The meeting also decided to immediately expedite the works related to temporary housing, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the people who lost their homes due to the floods. According to the information received so far, 278 families of seven local levels have sent information that they want to stay in temporary shelters immediately.

Apart from this, 400 families of Gosainkunda Rural Municipality of Rasuwa and 350 displaced families of Uttargaya and other rural municipalities are currently taking shelter in Bidur Municipality of Nuwakot.

The safe places will be selected on the basis of the report submitted by the Land Identification and Search Committee formed through a ministerial decision of the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration until the permanent rehabilitation of the displaced families is completed.

The Ministry of Infrastructure Development will construct temporary houses on the lands mentioned in the report with the coordination and facilitation of the concerned local government, the District Administration Office and the Authority. In addition, it has been decided that the concerned agencies will take the legal process to make necessary amendments in the existing legal provisions to facilitate the work related to settlement and rehabilitation.

The meeting also expressed gratitude to the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force Nepal, local administration, people’s representatives, civil servants, health workers, volunteers, private sector, non-governmental organizations, civil society, public, and media persons who were working round the clock in this difficult time despite adverse weather and geographical remoteness. The meeting also expressed its gratitude to all the friendly countries who provided cash, search, rescue and relief materials from home and abroad and to the teams of forensic experts who helped in this difficult time of disaster.