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Cleanup operations have begun in Belkhu Bazaar of Gajuri Rural Municipality-6, Dhading, where homes and sheds were buried in mud and debris following the floods.

The cleanup is being carried out under the leadership of Gajuri Rural Municipality Chairperson Ganesh Lal Shrestha, with the participation of municipal staff, personnel from the Nepali Army’s Shree Bhairav Gan stationed in Gajuri, and local youths.

Teams are removing accumulated soil, sludge and waste from inside homes and sheds affected by the floods. The rural municipality said the cleanup is being carried out at a rapid pace. Authorities have prioritised sanitation and rescue operations to ease the difficulties faced by local residents affected by the flooding.

An alternative road connecting Dhadingbesi, the district headquarters of Dhading, with the Prithvi Highway has been brought into operation after floods washed away the Furkhe Khola bridge at Malekhu. The Mashtar–Pipaltar–Parewatar alternative route, previously constructed by local authorities, was repaired and upgraded jointly by Siddhalek Rural Municipality and the Department of Roads under the federal government.

Badri Sharma, chief of the Nuwakot Road Division, said the road, which had been obstructed by heavy rainfall, was repaired and opened for vehicular movement. Jeeps, vans, Hiace vehicles, microbuses and Boleros can currently operate on the route. Further repairs and upgrades are underway to make the road suitable for larger passenger and freight vehicles, including buses, Sharma said.

Vehicles travelling from Dhadingbesi towards the Prithvi Highway can take the route from Parewatar through Pipaltar and Keureni to Mashtar. Vehicles travelling from the highway towards Dhadingbesi can cross the Trishuli River bridge at Mashtar and proceed through Keureni and Pipaltar to Parewatar.

Siddhalek Rural Municipality Chairperson Parshuram Khatiwada said the alternative route was opened after the main road was disrupted when the Furkhe Khola bridge was swept away by the flood. “For the time being, the road has been opened for smaller vehicles, while improvement work is being prioritised to make it suitable for larger vehicles,” Khatiwada said.

The death toll from the devastating floods in the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa has reached 626, while 2,426 people remain missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA). NDRRMA released the latest figures on Saturday morning, reporting that 626 people have died in the floods. In some cases, only partial human remains have been recovered.

The deaths have been reported from several districts: 13 in Rasuwa, 51 in Nuwakot, 45 in Dhading, 48 in Gorkha, 158 in Nawalparasi East, 47 in Nawalparasi West, 31 in Tanahun and 233 in Chitwan. Among those reported missing are 933 people associated with hydropower projects, 562 from Rasuwa, 115 from Nuwakot and 65 from Makwanpur.

The missing also include 517 foreign nationals, 27 police personnel, 45 Nepal Army personnel, 13 Armed Police Force personnel, 15 customs officials and four immigration officials. NDRRMA said 127 Nepali citizens residing abroad who had been visiting Nepal are also missing, along with three people associated with Langtang National Park. A total of 15,234 security personnel have been mobilised for search and rescue operations, while 4,451 people have been rescued so far, according to the authority.

Authorities in Chitwan are set to bury 229 unidentified bodies and human remains recovered from various locations following the devastating floods in the district.

The District Administration Office, Chitwan, said in a notice issued on Saturday that 233 bodies have been recovered so far, of which only four have been identified. The remaining 229 bodies and remains have deteriorated significantly and will be collectively buried.

The administration said the bodies were recovered from hospitals, holding centres and riverbanks and have deteriorated to the point that identification is no longer possible. Health experts have warned that the decomposition and spreading odour could increase the risk of disease outbreaks, leaving authorities with little option but to proceed with the burial.

Chief District Officer Ganesh Aryal said the decision was taken in accordance with the Unidentified and Unclaimed Bodies Management (First Amendment) Directive, 2083, following a decision by the District Security Committee on Friday. Aryal said DNA samples would be collected from all the bodies and detailed records maintained using identification numbers before the remains are buried. 

The bodies will be respectfully and securely buried at an open site in Devghat, located in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-1, he said.

The decision has, however, triggered anger among some bereaved families who have been searching for their missing relatives. Families have expressed concern that they may be unable to perform funeral rites if the bodies of their loved ones cannot be located and identified.

The administration acknowledged the difficulties caused to affected families and apologized for the inconvenience, saying the decision had been taken under unavoidable circumstances due to the condition of the recovered remains.

The Nepali Army rescued 208 people, including 43 foreign nationals, from flood-affected areas of Rasuwa on Saturday. According to the Army, its helicopter had rescued 208 people, including 38 Chinese and five Indian nationals, by 2:30 pm during rescue operations following floods in the district.

A joint team temporarily stationed in the area has also been working to rescue a group of people who have been trapped inside the tunnel of the Trishuli-3 hydropower project since Friday. The Army said the team is using equipment including a drilling machine in an attempt to locate the exterior section of the tunnel and facilitate the rescue operation.

More than 7,000 Nepali Army personnel have been deployed across the affected districts, where they are carrying out search and rescue operations, providing emergency medical treatment and managing recovered bodies, the Army said.

The government has sought specialised technical assistance from neighbouring countries for forensic examinations and the management of bodies recovered from disaster-affected areas, Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal said on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference organised at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Khanal said Nepal had requested technical support from friendly neighbouring countries for rescuing people trapped inside disaster-hit tunnels, locating survivors, conducting forensic examinations and managing recovered bodies.

He said an 11-member tunnel rescue technical team from India has already been deployed, while a rescue team from China is expected to arrive soon. According to Khanal, Nepal has already received more than 57 tonnes of relief materials from India. Additional essential supplies are being sent by China, Japan, Australia and other countries, he said.

The government is also coordinating with foreign embassies to provide information to the families of tourists affected by the disaster and to facilitate the identification and repatriation of bodies, Khanal said. He added that authorities are continuously monitoring a lake formed by water accumulation downstream of the flood-affected area and assessing the potential risks it could pose through technical coordination between Nepal and the two neighbouring countries.

Khanal said the impact of the floods remained confined to certain areas and that most of Nepal’s major tourist destinations were safe and fully operational. “We are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with concerned countries and agencies to ensure rescue, relief and recovery efforts,” Khanal said.

The devastating floods in Bhotekhosi River that swept through Rasuwa and downstream areas have left a trail of destruction across Nepal’s vital trade and energy infrastructures, with preliminary government estimates putting the economic damage at more than Rs 200bn.

Although the full scale of the destruction is yet to be assessed, as rescue and search operations are currently underway, initial reports indicate that private houses, roads, bridges, hydropower projects, large swathes of cultivable land, electricity infrastructure, commercial goods and other physical assets have been swept away or severely damaged.

With hundreds of lives lost, major trade infrastructure destroyed, hydropower capacity knocked offline, hundreds of vehicles and containers swept away, and roads, bridges, homes and land devastated, the Rasuwa floods have emerged as one of Nepal’s most economically consequential disasters in recent years. 

The devastation comes around a year after the economic losses of around Rs 100bn during the GenZ protest on Sept 8 and 9 last year. 

Minister for Infrastructure Development Sunil Lamsal has estimated preliminary losses of the Bhotekoshi flooding at more than Rs 200bn. Experts, however, say the figure could rise substantially once a detailed assessment is completed.

The destruction has been particularly severe along the trade corridor connecting Nepal with China through the Rasuwagadhi border point. The flood has washed away different sections of the Galchi-Rasuwagadhi road. The Department of Roads (DoR) has estimated that around 40 kilometers of the road have been completely destroyed. At least 22 concrete bridges and five Bailey bridges in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading have also been swept away by the floods, according to preliminary details from the department.

Officials and traders fear one of the country’s vital overland trade routes with China could be affected for an extended period. China is Nepal’s second-largest trading partner with bilateral trade worth more than Rs 400bn annually. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 425.24bn from China in the last fiscal year, while its exports during the year stood at Rs 1.89bn. The Rasuwagadhi-Kerung, which was also affected by last year’s floods, had emerged as the most dependable trade routes with China in recent years.   

The flood has also struck at a particularly damaging time for traders. More than half of the goods imported from China for the upcoming Teej, Dashain and Tihar festivals are estimated to have been stored at the Rasuwa customs area when the flood struck. More than 200 containers were reportedly swept away, including 60 containers that had already cleared customs and were awaiting transport to Kathmandu. Traders had diverted a larger share of imports through Rasuwagadhi after the Tatopani border route was closed because of road damage.  

The automobile sector has also suffered major losses. Industry people say More than 700 vehicles imported for the Dashain and Tihar shopping season are estimated to have been swept away. More than 200 BYD cars, 180 MG cars, 60 Foton and 81 imported by MAW Vriddhi from China are believed to have been washed away by floods.

The flood has dealt another major blow to the power sector. According to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, 12 hydropower projects have been damaged, forcing around 431.1 megawatts of generation capacity offline. This is roughly 10 percent of the country’s total electricity generation capacity. The damage extends beyond generating plants. Six transmission lines have been disrupted and the Trishuli 220 kV substation has been completely damaged. Electricity supply has been fully disrupted in Rasuwa and partially disrupted in Nuwakot, Dhading and Gorkha, with poles, transformers and other distribution infrastructure damaged in several locations.

The economic impact is already spilling into financial markets. Shares of hydropower companies affected by the disaster came under heavy selling pressure on Wednesday, while the Hydropower sub-index fell 2.83 percent. Shares of Rasuwagadhi Hydropower were down by 14.66 percent, while Chilime Hydropower declined 9.28 percent. The damage has also affected non-life insurers because insurers are expected to bear part of the losses from insured hydropower projects, vehicles and other assets.

Meanwhile, major political parties have appealed to the international community for assistance.

An all-party meeting held Thursday morning issued a 10-point joint resolution and made an appeal for international assistance.

“We appeal to the United Nations, development partners, international non-governmental organizations, friendly nations and the Nepali diaspora, among others, to provide the necessary humanitarian, technical and financial assistance for rescue, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction following the unimaginable destruction,” 

Minister for Finance Swarnim Wagle said the ministry has initiated high-level consultations with international development partners to outline funding strategies for recovery and reconstruction. “The World Bank has already pledged Rs 25bn, while neighboring India and China, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has also proposed assistance,” Wagle said after the all-party meeting on Thursday.

The play ‘Bir Ganeshman’, based on the life and political struggle of Nepali democratic leader Ganeshman Singh, is set to be staged at Sarwanam Theatre in Kalikasthan, Kathmandu, from Aug 30 to Sept 30. The play is being organised by the Ganeshman Foundation and presented by Sarwanam. Veteran theatre artist Ashesh Malla has conceptualised, adapted and directed the production.

According to Malla, the play explores Singh’s political struggle, commitment, sacrifice and dedication to the country. He said the production is based on historical events rather than the symbolic and metaphorical approach often associated with his previous theatre works.

The play portrays Singh’s opposition to the Rana regime, his imprisonment at Bhadra Jail and his escape by climbing a six-foot-high prison wall. It also depicts his role in the struggle for democracy, including his willingness to face the death penalty during the movement against the Rana regime.

Another part of the play focuses on Singh’s decision to decline the post of prime minister following the success of the 1990 people’s movement. The production is presented by Sarwanam, a theatre group established in 1981 that has been active in Nepal’s theatre sector for more than four decades. The organisation has staged plays addressing social and political issues and has also conducted theatre workshops and training programmes.