Kathmandu, Sept 2: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has asserted that security personnel were deployed for search, rescue, treatment, and relief operations immediately after the massive flood hit the Bhotekoshi River on August 26.
Addressing today’s meeting of the House of Representatives, he informed that as soon as they received the information at 8:45 am on the day the flood occurred, they got a briefing from the District Disaster Management Committee and directed to adopt security precautions.
He said that at 9:00 in the same morning, they had, through the respective district administration offices, urged settlements in the riverbank areas to move to safe places, and at 9:15 am, in view of the situation, he convened an emergency meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.
“There were decisions made on how to rescue people in the affected areas. At 9:35 in the morning, we sent alert notifications to the mobiles of citizens in the affected area through the telecom company. At 9:45 in the morning, the Nepali Army helicopter took off for the rescue. That was the first aerial rescue flight. We also immediately put private helicopters on standby,” PM Shah said.
He said that on the day of the incident, an emergency meeting of the ‘Nepali Army’s Monsoon Command Post’ was held at 10:00am, and it was decided to deploy resources and conduct search and rescue in the affected area.
“At 10:30 in the morning, we had the ‘Search and Rescue and Emergency Response Team’ ready at Tribhuvan International Airport. Security personnel from the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, and Armed Police Force were deployed for search, rescue, treatment, and relief operations from Kathmandu and other districts as well,” he said.
The meeting of the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management was convened at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and it directed the chiefs of security agencies to prioritize search, rescue, and treatment, as people are in crisis in the affected areas, he said.
Prime Minister Shah informed the House that he had instructed the relevant authorities to deploy additional helicopters and drone teams, and called an emergency cabinet meeting to speed up search, rescue, and treatment in the affected areas.
“Also, it was decided to declare 15 affected local levels as ‘disaster-affected areas’ for three months, provide immediate financial assistance to the families of the deceased as per the law, rescue injured and stranded individuals immediately and move them to safe locations, and deploy the Nepali Army and private sector helicopters for this work,” he said.
Prime Minister Shah informed the HoR that it was decided to direct the Ministry of Health and Food Safety, the Nepali Army, and government hospitals to provide immediate free treatment for the injured, arrange for safe places for those who lost their homes, and ensure the speedy restoration of services like electricity, telecommunications, roads, and drinking water.
