‘One-Door System for Flood Relief Ineffective': Activists Appeal to Nepal Govt to Mobilise Experienced Officials
New Delhi: A group of civil society activists from Nepal, on Wednesday (September 1), has called on the Nepal government to strengthen disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts after the devastating Rasuwa disaster of August 26 that killed more than 1,000 people, with nearly 4,000 still missing. The appeal emphasises the need for greater involvement of local governments, transparent relief management, improved systems and stronger cross-border cooperation on climate and disaster risks.
The following is the full text of the appeal, titled 'Include and coordinate: All mechanisms for rescue, relief and rehabilitation.'
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We civil rights activists are shocked and saddened by the irreparable human and infrastructural losses caused by the ice-and-rock avalanche and ensuing flood that occurred on Wednesday, 26th August, 2083 (Bhadra 10, 2083). In this hour of grief, we honour the memory of the departed and express deep sympathy to the bereaved families. We also hope for the safe rescue of those who remain missing.
Thousands of Nepali citizens as well as foreign citizens have been taken casualty by the debris flow and flood, and many more thousands are missing. Physical infrastructure has suffered great damage – highways, bridges, hydropower, schools, health posts, residences and business complexes worth trillions of rupees. Dozens of concrete bridges have been washed away. A dozen hydroelectric projects of about 900 MW capacity have been affected, as well as more than 100 km of roads. Thousands of hectares of agricultural land have been converted to mud flats. The archaeological remnants of this historic route from Kathmandu Valley to the Tibetan plateau have also been obliterated by the debris flow.
In this tragic hour of irreparable loss, we express solidarity with the efforts of the Government of Nepal and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) in the search, rescue and relief operations. We appreciate the contribution of security personnel, including Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, and local citizens who jumped in to save their families and communities. However, we have taken serious note of the inability of the federal government to involve elected local government representatives in rescue and relief work. Going ahead, we insist that beyond rescue and relief, the rehabilitation of disaster victims cannot be effective or efficient without the participation of the local government.
It has become essential for the government to establish a unified information dissemination system to ensure spread of accurate information, and thereby also to make the security agencies’ rescue and relief operations more effective. Limiting information access to favoured news organisations and journalists carries with it the danger of misinformation, disinformation, fabrication and manipulation. As we move into medium- and long-term rehabilitation, the government must ensure that the dissemination of information is reliable, transparent and accountable. While being alert to media excesses that might hurt the victims of disaster, we urge the government to allow the free collection, transmission and dissemination of news by domestic as well as foreign media.
The appeal by Prime Minister Balendra Shah for emergency assistance at the national and international levels has seen heartening and enthusiastic response from the citizenry as well as governments, organisations and individuals internationally. Beyond the immediate humanitarian needs, we urge all citizens, as well as the international community, to be mindful of the need for continuing support for relief and rehabilitation work many years into the future.
We urge Government of Nepal to create a special mechanism for transparent, responsible, accountable and justifiable management of the funds being collected in the Nepal Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund. In addition, we request the Rt. Hon'ble Speaker of the House to take the initiative to form a Parliamentary Committee to monitor the entire process. We also believe that all-party mechanisms involving leaders and cadres of political parties can be effective in disaster response.
According to the NDRRMA report of August 31, 2026, about 900 bodies had been collected at the time, with 10,000 injured or missing, and more than 4,000 rescued. Identification and proper management of bodies recovered from the floods has become a challenge for both the authorities and the victim community. The government has started the process of burying unidentified bodies, and we urge that there be proper management of the process from the perspective of public health as well as the rights of the families of the deceased with regards to personal loss and diverse funeral rituals.
Altogether about 21,000 security personnel have been deployed for search and rescue on the Bhotekoshi/Trishuli. Sadly, despite the heavy deployment of manpower and helicopters, we note that the federal government has not been able to demonstrate coordinated and responsible role in the search, rescue and relief distribution. We note that the centralisation of the process has meant that collected relief materials have not seen distribution in the initial days when the need was the greatest.
During our observation and monitoring of the affected areas, we have noted and appreciated the role of the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, in the search and rescue activities. However, we also note that the overall controlling role of the Nepal Army has led to delays in collection and distribution of relief to the victims, survivors and affected citizens. We also fear that such control can lead to injustice to victims in need, as well as shrinking of civic space and possibilities of democratic engagement that prevents elected local officials and individual citizens from acting in the field.
We are constrained to declare that the ‘one-door system’ announced by the government for the distribution of relief has been ineffective and needs to be challenged. Instead of reducing the role of civil society and organisations through such policies at a time of crisis and great immediate need, the authorities have sought to centralise relief. Whereas the government must, without delay, work to create a welcoming atmosphere and mobilise all tiers and mechanisms at the federal, provincial and local levels. Additionally, the government must facilitate the broadest participation by civil society organisations, professional groups and individual citizens for the direct benefit of victims and affected families.
Through a study of available scientific literature and commentary, we conclude that the devastating ice-rock avalanche on the Langtang Lirung north flank as well as the downstream ensuing flood were caused by global warming. Nepal is now faced with great uncertainty in its path to progress related to collapsing mountains and glacial lake outburst floods. The government must work with national and international academia to understand the processes that have been unleashed by the climate emergency and take measures to secure the population of mountain, hill and plain. Given that many of Nepal’s rivers are cross-border and flowing in from Tibet, the government must strengthen early warning systems in collaboration with the Government of the People’s Republic of China. Similarly, the government must also collaborate with other countries of the Himalaya-Hindu Kush region to better understand phenomena such as global warming and permafrost thawing.
We remember that the absence of an elected and empowered local government had gravely affected the flow of rescue and relief during the earthquake of April 2015. In contrast, the presence of elected local governments contributed significantly to tackling the Covid pandemic in 2020, by providing awareness, promoting relief and treatment, managing holding centers, and minimising movement. This learning is ours to use amidst the present disaster, and we demand that local governments be given the leading role in post-disaster relief distribution, rehabilitation, and reconstruction work.
Similarly, since a large number of children, women, senior citizens, disabled and those of other priority groups have been affected by the floods, we request immediate steps be taken in relation to education, health, medical services, counselling, housing and diet, in addition to other rehabilitation needs. Meanwhile, immediate action is needed for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases linked to contaminated drinking water and inappropriate diet.
Finally, we appeal to all three tiers of government, civil society organisations and actors, media as well as the international community to support disaster-response initiatives to deal with the physical, mental, emotional and material needs of the disaster victims and their families. We need to show empathy and support amidst the sorrow and the pain in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts. We urge the Government of Nepal to mobilise experienced and empathetic officials and experts so that the entire process of relief distribution, rehabilitation and reconstruction is conducted in a human rights-friendly, inclusive and gender-sensitive manner.
Signatories:
- Asmita Sapkota
- Ajit Acharya
- Abhishek Adhikari
- Dr. Bimala Rai Paudyal
- Bidur Subedi
- Bishnu Prasad Pokharel
- Devika Mijar
- Dhana Bahadur Mijar
- Dr. Gopalkrishna Shiwakoti
- Indra Aryal
- Indu Tuladhar
- Kanak Mani Dixit
- Krishna Gautam
- Dr. Padmaprasad Khatiwada
- Bhagwati Adhikari
- Bhakta Vishwakarma
- Badri Bhusal
- Monika Niraula
- Majid Ansari
- Neetu Pokharel
- Nirajan Thapaliya
- Nanimaya Thapa
- Dr.Prakash Bhatrarai
- Riyab Baniya
- Saroj Nepal
- Sanjay Sharma
- Savitri Thapa
- Shiva Khakurel
- Sujit Saxena
- Shobhakar Budhathoki
- Sushil Pyakurel
- Sushil B.K.
- Subodh Pyakurel
- Som Niraula
- Trilotam Poudel
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