"The scale of damage is so high, it's like a parlay, we cannot imagine": Former National Reconstruction Authority CEO on Nepal floods

Kathmandu: Nepal is currently grappling with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis following catastrophic flash floods along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers across the Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, and Gorkha districts, causing severe infrastructure damage, massive displacement, and an ongoing search for missing persons.

Assessing the staggering scale of the disaster and the immediate government measures, Dr Govind Raj Pokharel, former Vice Chair of the National Planning Commission of Nepal and former CEO of the National Reconstruction Authority, stated in an exclusive interview with from Kathmandu, "I think the immediate response that the Nepalese government has been carrying out, it's sufficient if you see based on their resources capacity and their security network and so on. The scale of damage is so high, it's like a parlay, we cannot imagine because the flood volume of water and the speed and the damages that has caused in settlement, hydropower, government offices and roads, it's beyond imagination. That's why if you see that scale of disaster and the response of government, you have to appreciate."

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Detailing the complex logistical hurdles involved in locating and evacuating missing individuals along the Kerung route towards Kailash ahead of Janai Purnima, Dr Pokhrel noted, "Janai Purnima is tomorrow and Gosai Punda lake is also there, that is a very sacred lake for Hindus and many people, including foreigners, also going towards Kailash. So that is one route through Kerum, you go to Kailash. That's why those tourists who need visa and so on, maybe you have the tracking of those tourists, but especially for Nepalese coming from other parts of Nepal and Indians, they don't need any visa. So you need to track them. It's very difficult because so many dead bodies are lying there, mud is so thick, you will hardly find all bodies because last year when there was a flood in the same area, Chinese had also lost their people, still they could not locate those bodies. That's why it will take a long time to find out how many people we lost in that disaster. Because it's an unimaginable level of disaster. That's why we need to track down through families who missed their loved ones. So I cannot guess because people are guessing thousands, but yeah, it's more than thousands, but it's still too early to guess how many people we lost."

Corroborating the expanding casualty and missing figures, the Nepal Tourism Board stated on Thursday that preliminary agency-wise records from trekking and travel companies have identified 644 missing travellers from the affected area, including 178 Indian nationals, 53 citizens from Ukraine, 35 from Australia, 25 from Canada, and 127 Nepali nationals, with authorities actively verifying the data in coordination with local guides and security agencies.

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Reflecting on the profound gratitude for regional support, Dr Pokhrel highlighted the deep-rooted solidarity between the two nations, stating, "We are grateful because I was in planning commission when 2015 earthquake happened and Prime Minister Modi immediately responded and mobilised his apparatus from bureaucrats to military to everything. So this time also I have seen in social media Honourable Prime Minister of India, Honourable President of India, ministers of India, foreign ministers, including opposition leaders, everyone is willing to help Nepal in this difficult moment. And I have seen also some activities has already been started to deliver some relief materials because the disaster in 2015 and disaster this time is a little bit different because in 2015 you lost people, but they had their land, their houses were damaged, but their fields were there, their business were maybe a bit damaged, not like that, but this time it's everything washed away. You lost people, you lost house, you lost businesses, hydro power, government officials, so many things. That's why the scale of devastation is big this time and maybe in reconstruction, during the relief and rescue and rehabilitation, India is already active like it used to be in the past. And this time we have seen from every corner of Indian politicians, government, bureaucrats, civil society of India, everyone is willing to help Nepal. I think this time Nepal may need more help during the reconstruction and the rehabilitating those hydro powers, business activities and trekking routes and roads and so on."

Capitalising on this prompt bilateral outreach, India stepped up its swift disaster relief efforts by dispatching a second aircraft on Thursday carrying 37.5 tonnes of humanitarian aid, essential medicines, and food packets to Nepal, building upon an initial 10-tonne shipment delivered on Wednesday.

Confirming the development on X, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reaffirmed New Delhi's steadfast solidarity with Kathmandu, stating, "A second flight has just taken off, carrying 37.5 tonnes of HADR material, medicines & food packets for Nepal," while adding that India remains in close and continuous touch with Nepalese authorities to support ongoing relief efforts.

Demonstrating active diplomatic engagement on the ground, India's Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, formally handed over the comprehensive relief package to Nepal's Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Khadak Raj Paudel, with Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasising that New Delhi stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Nepal under its enduring 'Neighbourhood First' policy.

Drawing from his extensive experience spearheading Nepal's post-2015 earthquake reconstruction, when individual homes were rebuilt with technical guidance from Indian experts stationed in Kathmandu, Dr Pokhrel outlined the unique hurdles posed by the current calamity and the potential for bilateral cooperation, "At that time because individual houses were damaged and when you identify a really affected population and provide them some sort of financial support to build their houses like Indian government has done in Gujarat because you know PK Mishra, principal secretary of Prime Minister Modi personally visited Kathmandu at that time and we have learned from many experts who were involved in reconstruction in Gujarat, they were stationed in Kathmandu and advising us in being in planning permission in reconstruction authority. But this time the scale of damage is totally different. People lost not only houses, they lost even the place where they were supposed to build houses. So we need to relocate them. We need to rebuild many private businesses activities. That's why the scale of damage is different this time and India we need to because you know this last year also in Sikkim similar thing happened. So India has lots of experience, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, everything. So with the financial aid and technical expertise, I think Nepal needs to seek support from Indian system so that we can adapt that in our context."

Reflecting on the increasing unpredictability of extreme weather events and long-term regional cooperation in the wake of the tragedy, former Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal emphasised, "Actually, this type of devastating event had not occurred and we had not expected it. This type of incident, there was information system. It is not only the internal problem of Nepal. It's a problem of Nepal, India, China, and South Asia. In general speaking, it's the problem of China and South Asia, actually. So we have to take a very deep lesson from this incident. It's a very big incident and this devastating incident has taught us a very deep and a very long term lesson for the people and government and countries around the Himalayan region."

Expanding on these transboundary imperatives, Dr Pokhrel called for a fundamental overhaul of infrastructure planning and disaster management, "We used to say that we are rich in hydropower resources and now and then we were building many infrastructure along the river bank of those small gorges river along the small rivers and trekking routes. So we need to think in two three sectors differently. One is how to relocate those families not only this river in other rivers where you have chances of having avalanches and snow melt and etc. How to resettle those business activities and settlements in different manner so that there will be less damage and another is hydropower. It's a very highly risky Nepal also need to learn from other countries experiences and diversify its resource base not only hydropower maybe we need to also have some mix of solar. And third one is like we were actually building many things in those means disaster-prone areas. So we need to move from that like building trekking routes, check post, custom post and another important point is we need to have a collaboration with neighbours because China is in upstream. They will have although this time also they support heavy losses but not like us. So we need to have a formal collaboration with upstream countries like China, Tibet and areas because in Hindu Kush, Himalaya starting from Afghanistan to Myanmar I think the downstream Nepal and India will be suffering. So we need to have some sort of this Hindu Kush, Himalayan areas, some sort of information sharing, early warning and disaster prevention collaboration and use of technology satellites so that you can provide information in advance and early so that the many lives and properties can be saved."