Ranjha (Banke), Oct 27: It has been two months since the Bhotekoshi flood, but the wait for DNA report of the missing ones is continuous.
Anlal Rokaya from Thapuwa of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolis-20 shared the plight that he spent these two months without receiving any information on the DNA report of family members who went missing in the disaster.
“We spent this year’s Dashain with desperate wait for the DNA report of the missing ones. As we’ve neither got our family members alive nor the dead bodies, we are deprived of observing social and cultural rites,” he explained.
Rokaya had lost his son Dipak Rokaya, 19; elder brother Sher Singh Rokaya, 53; and sister-in-law Bishnumati Rokaya, 56, in the Bhotekoshi flash flood occurred on August 26. His son Dipak had gone to Rasuwa to meet his brother and to visit Gosaikunda as well. But his visit turned tragic.
Dipak was the only son meant to care for entire family but his absence together with two others has left Rokaya family in utter agony. If they were killed, why the dead bodies are not found, Anlal wailed.
“Now with the passage of time, we’ve lost hope for the life of three members of my family,” he said, expressing worry over delayed report of DNA. It has caused further pain, he added. Anlal had earlier expected that he would find traces of his son, elder brother and sister-in-law after sending the sample for DNA test/match.
He provided biological sample for DNA matching with the dead bodies recovered by the authorities following the disaster. But, the long wait is so painful that his family could not even conduct social rites.
He argued the government must make sure the aggrieved family about the status of those missing or perished ones in the flood.
“We’ve not got our family members back or got their bodies after the flood. Then, how can we conduct their final rites,” Anlal wondered. He further said once the government official declares the disappearance of his relatives, they would conduct ritual.
There are others to wait for the return of their family members or at least the information about their status. Sixteen-year-old Subash Nepali, brother Ashwin, 11, and sister Smarika, 9, are desperately waiting for the information about their parents- Aram Damai and Ujana Damai. The couple had left for Rasuwa in a bid to manage livelihood for the family. Subash said he was also awaiting DNA report of their parents.
Chairman of Ward No 20 in the Sub-Metropolis, Chankra Bahadur Buda, said he was consoling the aggrieved family.
The local level is providing essential support to the aggrieved families and coordination for the schooling of children who lost parents in the disaster.
