Chitwan, August 29: Families of people who went missing after the devastating floods in the Bhotekoshi area of Rasuwa are moving from one hospital and morgue to another in search of their loved ones.
For many, the search has become a painful journey between hope and despair. While some families are still hoping to find their relatives alive, others are struggling to identify bodies recovered from the floodwaters.
Ghanshyam Basnet, also known as Milan, from Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-3 of Makwanpur, has been missing since Wednesday after floods struck the Bhotekoshi area of Rasuwa.
Basnet had travelled to the Rasuwa border point to load goods onto a container truck. He spoke with his wife, Kanchan Pathak, on Tuesday night. It was his first trip to the Rasuwa border area, as he normally drove between Kathmandu and Birgunj.
After losing contact with her husband following the floods, Kanchan began visiting hospitals and places where recovered bodies were being kept.
On Saturday, she travelled from Hetauda to the Provincial Hospital in Madhyabindu, Kawasoti, to look at the recovered bodies. She also visited hospitals in Bharatpur and Gaindakot but could not find any information about her husband. She eventually returned to Hetauda disappointed.
“I spoke to him at around 9 p.m. the previous night. He said he would call me the next morning,” she said. “I did not call because I thought he might still be asleep. After hearing that the flood had struck, I called him, but his phone was switched off.”
Similarly, Navaraj Lama of Thaha Municipality, Makwanpur, has been travelling between Nuwakot, Kathmandu and Chitwan since August 26 in search of his brother, Rameshwar Rana.
Rana, who used to drive a vehicle in the area, became unreachable after the floods. Lama said he had spoken to his brother over a video call on Tuesday night.
“My brother told me he had eaten dinner and was going to sleep. I was working in Tanahun at the time. When I woke up the next morning and went to work, I later learned that the flood had hit and my brother could no longer be contacted,” Lama said. “I am still searching for him. Neither have I found him alive nor have I found his body.”
Meanwhile, Risad Hussain and his family from Birgunj have also been staying in Chitwan for the past two days in search of his nephew, Samim Miya.
Samim worked at a tyre shop in Syafrubesi, Rasuwa, and has been missing since the flood. His family says there has been no contact with him and no body has been found.
“I have heard that many people are still staying on hills in Rasuwa, but no proper search is being carried out,” Hussain said. Four of Samim’s friends are also reportedly missing.
These families represent only a small part of the larger number of people desperately searching for missing relatives. Hundreds of family members are visiting hospitals, temporary morgues and other locations where recovered bodies have been taken.
Identifying the Bodies Has Become Difficult
Even when bodies are recovered, identifying them has become extremely difficult for relatives.
Many bodies were severely damaged after being swept away by the powerful floodwaters. Authorities have also been displaying photographs of recovered bodies to help families identify them, but in many cases the condition of the bodies makes identification extremely difficult.
A total of 233 bodies have so far been recovered in Chitwan alone, according to the report. Only six of them have been formally identified. The unidentified bodies have been kept at Bharatpur Hospital and temporary morgues.
As some bodies have started decomposing after remaining in storage for an extended period, authorities have begun burying them in pits after necessary procedures.
For families still searching for missing relatives, the situation has become an agonising wait between hope and grief. They continue to visit hospitals and morgues, hoping to discover what happened to their loved ones.
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