Government Suspends Non-Essential Search and Rescue Operations After Bhotekoshi-Trishuli Floods

The government has decided to suspend non-essential search and rescue operations related to the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli floods for the time being, while directing authorities to accelerate reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the affected areas.

The decision was taken at the 21st meeting of the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, held on Sunday at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Balendra Shah.

The meeting decided to continue only essential search operations while shifting the focus toward reconstruction and rehabilitation in the flood-affected areas.

According to the government, the decision was made based on recommendations from the District Security Committees, District Disaster Management Committees and the Executive Committee of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), along with findings from field inspections of the affected areas.

The concerned agencies have been directed to intensify reconstruction and rehabilitation works while continuing search operations deemed necessary.

The Bhotekoshi-Trishuli floods caused widespread damage to infrastructure, settlements and public facilities across several affected districts. Authorities have been carrying out search, rescue and relief operations since the disaster.

The meeting also decided to recommend a budget of Rs 559.17 billion for the implementation of 504 plans and programmes proposed by various ministries and government agencies for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the affected areas.

The proposed amount stands at Rs 559 billion, Rs 17 crore, Rs 72 lakh and Rs 27 thousand.

The plans have been approved in accordance with the Financial Procedures and Fiscal Responsibility Regulations, 2077, and the required resources will be managed through the Ministry of Finance.

The government said the proposed programmes cover reconstruction and rehabilitation measures required in areas affected by the floods.

The meeting also directed the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority to recommend additional budgetary arrangements to the Ministry of Finance once details of projects whose cost estimates have not yet been finalized and those that are yet to be prioritized are received.

This process is expected to help ensure that projects requiring reconstruction and rehabilitation support are assessed and prioritized before additional resources are allocated.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah said disaster management efforts were being carried out through coordination among the federal, provincial and local governments, and that the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase would also follow the same approach.

Leaders of opposition parties, including the parliamentary party leader of the Nepali Congress, as well as the chief ministers of Bagmati, Gandaki, Madhesh and Koshi provinces, expressed their full support for the government's reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

The government has said coordination among all three tiers of government and political parties will be important to expedite reconstruction and rehabilitation in the flood-affected areas.