Kathmandu. Nowadays, drones are flying in the sky from time to time in the sky of Ama Chhodingmo Rural Municipality of Rasuwa district. People who look at the sky with drones carrying relief and other essential materials are amazed. Nowadays, when drones carry people and materials carried by horses and mules, the eyes of the locals are fixed on it.

On August 10, drones are seen flying over the land carrying the ruins of roads and bridges and other structures damaged by the floods in Rasuwa. After the floods blocked the land route, this sky has now become a way of relief for the remote settlements. After the flood almost isolated the village from the outside world, the shortage of food, medicine and gas increased. For the families struggling with hunger, the relief transported by drones has become a big support for the affected areas.

When I reached Ama Chhodingmo Rural Municipality before August 10, the scene was different. Greenery all around, settlements spread in the lap of the Himalayas, the buzzing Bhotekoshi and the hustle and bustle of tourists. This rural municipality located in the northern part of Rasuwa was known for religious and natural tourism.

Named after Parbatikund, the identity of this village was linked to the energy development of the country by the Chilime, Sanjen and Trishuli hydropower projects. Every year, thousands of Nepali and foreign tourists used to come here to see the natural beauty here. But the flood of Bhotekoshi on August 10 changed that identity in an instant. Where there was a movement of people a few days ago, now the same place looks deserted. There are no roads. There is no electricity connection. More than two hundred people are missing.

The memory of this scene still breaks the heart of Buchung Tamang, the chairman of Ama Chhodingmo Rural Municipality. “It was a disaster. Whatever has happened. Now the survivors are not left hungry,” he said. After the floods, the road and electricity connection of the village with the outside world was suddenly cut off. After the road was washed away, the biggest challenge became to transport essential commodities to the village. There was a shortage of essential daily necessities including food, medicine, gas.

On the one hand, the floods swept away houses, roads and structures. On the other hand, the local government was worried about how to feed the survivors. Chairman Tamang was troubled by the food crisis. “There was a big problem of how to avoid the food crisis. We appealed to the central government. There was also an attempt to bring the goods by helicopter,” he recalls.

It was not possible to bring all the goods by helicopter. Due to the difficult terrain, obstructed roads and difficult conditions caused by the disaster, it was very difficult to transport essential goods to the villages. In that difficult time, drone technology became a helpful technology for the transportation of relief. “Now I realized how easy it would be with the development of technology,” says Chairman Tamang, “Otherwise, it would have been very difficult to bring the goods here.” ”

Assistant Chief District Officer of Rasuwa, Dhruba Prasad Adhikari, said that the form of relief distribution has become easier as goods can be transported from the sky to the places left by the road. “Now essential goods like medicines, gas and food grains are being transported to the affected settlements through drones. It is becoming very easy,” he said.

Chandika Tamang, vice-chairperson of Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality, said that after the floods, the road, electricity and regular supply service in Ama Chhodingmo Rural Municipality were cut off. “After the Bhotekoshi floods, we have been under the blockade. There is no road, no electricity. Our place has become dark,” he said, “Thanks to the drone, it has been possible to transport relief to Ward No. 1.” However, it was not possible to transport relief through drones in wards 2, 3, 4 and 5, which are still far away from Dhunche. ”

According to Tamang, only one sack of rice has been provided to the families affected by the floods so far. He said that other consumers have also been forced to buy daily essentials at a very high price due to the disruption of roads and transportation. Tamang said that he had to pay up to Rs 11,000 for a sack of rice that costs Rs 2,700. “Due to the lack of easy transportation of daily essentials, the goods here have become very expensive. The pain of the affected families is even greater. It is also difficult for other people,” he said, “It is very difficult to carry even drones from ward number 1 in areas where they cannot reach. The pain here cannot be expressed.” ”

According to Tamang, due to the inconvenience of transportation, they have to spend many times more money on air transport than the price of the goods. “We have to pay up to Rs 200,000 to bring goods worth Rs 20,000,” he said. ”

The geography of Ama Chhodingmo is challenging in itself. The rural municipality consists of Ward No. 1 Haku, Ward No. 2 Nessing, Ward No. 3 Gatlang, Ward No. 4 Goljung and Ward No. 5 Chilime. Roads and bridges have collapsed. Roads are buried in landslides. In some places, even rescue workers are not able to reach. In such a situation, helicopters are considered as the main means of rescue and relief. However, drones are now becoming the new charioteers of disaster management to deliver essential supplies to places where helicopters cannot reach.

Use of drones to transport essential goods on time

}

Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s secretariat has informed that vaccines have been transported through drones to conduct vaccination campaign against cholera in flood-affected areas of Nuwakot. Chief Executive Officer of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), Dr Dharma Raj Upreti, said that drone technology has been helpful in transporting relief materials when the road connectivity has been cut off and it is difficult to resume immediately.

“It was difficult to reach the affected settlements by road and land after the Bhotekoshi floods caused huge damage in different areas of Rasuwa. In some places, it is not easy to transport the materials even by helicopter. Keeping this situation in mind, the NRA has started using drones to transport relief materials,” he said.

Capacity to carry up to 80 kg at a time

NRA Under-Secretary Ram Bahadur KC said that four drones have been used to transport relief materials from Dhunche to Hakubesi and the drone has the capacity to carry up to 80 kilograms of materials at a time. “Drones of this capacity have made it easier to distribute relief materials to those areas where it is not possible to go by helicopter,” he said. Drones are being used to deliver essential goods such as food, gas, medicines to the affected areas. ”

According to the authority, a certain amount of relief materials have been transported through the use of drones as it is difficult to transport them by helicopter as gas cylinders are comparatively heavy. Generally, drones are understood as a tool for taking photos, monitoring or collecting scenes of disaster situations, but in recent times its use has also been expanded in relief and rescue.

The drone used by the authority is of a different capacity than a normal camera drone. It can carry a load of up to about one hundred kilograms. According to the authority, even if a large amount of equipment cannot be transported at once during a disaster, its usefulness has increased as it can be transported in a phased manner. The authority says that the drone will save the time of the drone and reduce human and economic risk. According to the authority, helicopters will still be needed for the rescue of large quantities of relief materials, rescue of injured and affected people or for long-distance transportation.

New Practices in Disaster Management

}

As the incidents of disasters are increasing in Nepal, the need to adapt the relief and rescue system has also increased. It may take a long time to deliver relief to remote and geographically difficult places due to reliance on traditional means. It is believed that increasing the use of drones for future disaster risk management will help in timely delivery of relief and essential materials to the remote settlements.

After the Gorkha earthquake of 2072 BS, drones were used for damage assessment, heritage documentation, landslide mapping, and reconstruction planning. Drone technology has been used for mountain climbing (road construction) and transportation of garbage from high base camps. In recent times, drone technology has shown a new path of possibilities around the world. Drones have been useful for everything from food transportation to tourism promotion, aerial mapping, border area monitoring, forest fire control, emergency rescue and air ambulance.