Washington/Kathmandu, Aug 27 — As the devastating flash floods in Nepal left hundreds dead and over 800 people still missing, Nepali diaspora community leader Ojha Hari on Thursday thanked the Indian government for its swift response, invoking the “roti-beti ka rishta” - a term widely used to describe the deep and multifaceted ties between India and Nepal.
Lauding India’s prompt assistance to people in the affected areas, Ojha Hari told IANS that the floods had caused widespread destruction across Nepal.
“Our hydropower stations, the riverside dams, have all been destroyed. Schools, buildings, hospitals, hydropower stations, offices — everything has been destroyed. If you look at the videos, the entire villages are empty. In this terrible situation, it will probably take a long time for Nepal to recover. A lot of resources have been lost. I would like to thank the Indian government and its commitment to the roti-beti ka rishta,” said Ojha.
He also praised the speed with which the Indian assistance reached Nepal, saying relief material had already been dispatched to the affected areas.
“It was very quick. It already reached the people by today. I guess yesterday it reached the airport, and this morning I was seeing the news that it has already sent to the area...” he added.
Calling for greater support from the international community, Ojha said the scale of destruction had left Nepal facing enormous losses and expressed particular gratitude to India for quickly sending relief supplies.
"In this time, we need support from all over the globe, because I think, as per the information, more than 15 per cent of the hydropower stations, the total supply of the stations of Nepal, are broken down, and I think more than millions, billions of dollars of money we have lost in this flood. So, definitely, without the support and support of the international community, I don't think we can recover from these big losses. And especially I would like to thank the Indian government, who did help us by sending so many supplies..." he stated.
Ojha Hari also criticised the lack of timely information from China, where the situation originated, saying the failure to share prompt information prevented many people in Nepal from evacuating and contributed to the devastating impact.
The massive flood, originating in the Tibetan region of China, swept through the transboundary Bhote Koshi River, leaving a trail of destruction in Nepal.
"It is very serious. First of all, this situation could have been solved if there was like prompt information sharing from where it started, but due to the lack of information sharing, I think there was kind of a little bit failure in information sharing so that many people could not go out, could not evacuate from that location. And seeing on the videos and talking to friends there, they don't have electricity there right now. And then the communication is really hard with them to communicate because all of their phone batteries are dead..." Ojha told IANS.