Prime Minister Says ‘We Are Still Working with Determination’ After Rescue of Chandrika Shrestha

Kathmandu / Sept. 05: Prime Minister Balendra Shah has said that the government remains firmly committed to continuing search and rescue operations after 64-year-old Chandrika Shrestha was rescued alive from a flood-affected area in Betrawati, Bidur-10, Nuwakot.

Shrestha was rescued on Saturday by a joint team of the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police after being trapped in the debris of her home following the devastating floods that swept through the Bhotekoshi–Trishuli river corridor.

In a social media post on Saturday night, Prime Minister Shah said the successful rescue of Shrestha had given the entire country a renewed sense of hope. He said the rescue was also a message that the authorities were continuing their efforts with determination.

“This news is also a message that we are still working with determination in the search and rescue efforts,” Shah wrote.

The rescue comes as Nepal continues to grapple with the aftermath of the catastrophic flash floods that struck the Bhotekoshi River in Rasuwa on August 26, before cascading downstream through Nuwakot and other districts along the Trishuli and Narayani river systems. The disaster caused extensive loss of life and widespread destruction of homes, roads, bridges, hydropower infrastructure and other public facilities.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) has described Rasuwa and Nuwakot as the two severely affected districts. Thousands of people have been rescued or relocated, while search teams continue to look for people who remain missing. The difficult mountainous terrain, damaged roads and bridges, debris-filled river corridors and blocked hydropower tunnels have significantly complicated rescue operations.

Prime Minister Shah also expressed concern over the devastation caused by the Bhotekoshi floods and said the government remained particularly attentive to the safety, dignity and wellbeing of senior citizens.

He said elderly residents of the Devighat Senior Citizens Protection Centre in Nuwakot, who were displaced by the floods, had been safely relocated to the Krishna Pranami temples in Mhaipi and Inarpati, Kathmandu.

According to Shah, wheelchairs, health check-ups and psychosocial counselling services have also been made available to affected senior citizens.

“We will shorten the period of temporary accommodation and make arrangements for safe permanent housing as soon as possible. The state is with you,” he said.

The rescue of Shrestha comes amid renewed efforts to locate survivors nearly 11 days after the disaster. On the same day, a Chinese national was also rescued alive from a hydropower tunnel in flood-hit Rasuwa, while two Nepali workers had been rescued earlier from the Trishuli 3A hydropower project.

The continuing rescues have raised hopes that survivors may still be found despite the passage of time, while security forces and technical teams remain engaged in search, rescue, recovery and relief operations across the affected areas.