Galchhi (Nepal), Aug 29 (PTI) “It was a matter of two minutes,” Sonu Adhikari recalled on Saturday as she described how her parents collected the family’s important legal documents and escaped the devastating floods in their vehicle from their home of over two decades in Galchhi in central Nepal.
“Within about two minutes after my parents, elder sister and younger brother left in our vehicle, our entire house was submerged by floodwaters. The current was extremely powerful. A temple behind our house was also completely submerged,” Adhikari, 25, said.
“Gone… My 24 years of memories were destroyed in two minutes,” Adhikari, who works at a consultancy in Kathmandu, told PTI Videos in Galchhi.
Adhikari was not alone. On Saturday, residents of Galchhi
town, which saw no loss of life due to prior warning but suffered extensive damage due to flash floods, were picking up the pieces, three days after one of the worst disasters hit central Nepal.
An ice-rock avalanche following a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border sent a torrent of water, mud and debris downstream wiping out towns and villages along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers, damaging crucial infrastructure and washing away hydropower stations through central Nepal on Wednesday.
The death toll crossed 650 on Saturday, while more than 2,400 people remained missing, even as rescue operations continued at full pace amid intermittent rainfall reported in several flood-affected areas.
Adhikari, who is also pursuing a Master’s degree in Psychology along with her job, was in Kathmandu when the disaster struck.
Her parents did not seriously take the initial warning to leave their house as flooding was a common thing for the riverbank town but when her uncle called again and insisted that they leave as a massive flood was coming their way, the family collected important documents and escaped in their vehicle.
About 50 kms northwest of Kathmandu and situated in a hilly area ranging from 2,000 feet to 3500 feet, Galchhi is a rural municipality town in Dhading district of Bagmati province.
Prithvi Highway, a major road connecting Kathmandu with other parts of the country, passes through this town at the confluence of Trishuli and a small tributary Mahesh Khola. A portion of Ghatbesi bridge over the Trishuli river was also washed away, disrupting connectivity in the area.
Adhikari said floods had occurred in the area earlier as well, but they had never been this severe. “I am 25-year-old now, and I have spent 24 years of my life in this house. I have so many memories associated with this house. I grew up here,” she said.
“We put all our effort, money and emotions into this house, but the flood did not even take two minutes to take everything away,” she said.
Three days after the devastating flash flood hit central Nepal, Dhading, which was one of the worst affected districts, is now facing the massive task of rescue and rehabilitation.
“Fortunately, there has been no loss of life or casualties here because we had alerted the people beforehand,” Major Bidur Raj Giri told PTI Videos.
The floods had caused extensive damage in the area, and the Nepal Army is focusing on helping affected residents recover their belongings from damaged houses, he said, adding that the rescue operation is still underway.
Several residents of the Galchhi town of approximate 24,000 population lost their homes and with it were washed away their belongings, including essential supplies.
The local administration is distributing relief materials to the affected families even as rescue and relief operations continued three days after the catastrophic floods damaged houses, roads and bridges in several areas.
In the Gajuri area, efforts were underway to restore roads. Police personnel were seen assisting in the removal of vehicles trapped in the flood debris, while a Nepal Army rescue team was helping local residents clear mud and debris from their homes.
Major Giri said, “Keeping in mind the difficulties faced by the people, we are helping them retrieve their belongings from the affected houses.” Pointing towards her damaged house, Adhikari said, “Many people had asked why our house was built near the river. But my family had actually built the house far away from the river. Despite this, the floodwaters reached their home and swept it away.” Adhikari said she took leave from her office and returned to help clean the house with her parents. Her relatives had arrived to help them even as the family is staying at her elder uncle’s home.
Many of her neighbours are in an even worse situation as they had nothing left to live with, she added and claimed that her family had not received any relief from the government so far.
Purna Prasad Dulal, the Chief Administrative Officer of Gulchhi Rural Municipality, said around 250 families had been identified as affected according to the preliminary assessment.
“We have prepared relief packages for the affected families and are distributing them in the affected areas,” Dulal said.
The relief packages include rice, beaten rice (chiura), noodles, biscuits, blankets and drinking water. A separate package containing lentils, rice, sugar, cooking oil and utensils is also scheduled to be distributed.
Dulal said the situation remained challenging as several houses had been submerged or swept away and many others were filled with mud and debris.
“Removing the mud and debris is a major challenge, and we are working on it,” he said, adding that road connectivity in the area was restored on Friday.
The local administration has also mobilised volunteers with the support of political parties to assist in the cleanup operation.
Adhikari said there are only a few of the villagers working at the moment for rehabilitation. “So we need more people. The more hands we have, the faster the work will be completed.” PTI JKY NPK NPK
