Kathmandu, August 14 (PTI): At least 14 people were killed in a landslide in Nepal today, taking the death toll in rain- triggered floods and landslides to 80 across the Himalayan nation, even as all the 35 stranded Indian nationals have been rescued, officials said.
Heavy rainfall has lashed Nepal for the past four days, leading to the swelling of several rivers beyond the danger mark and causing flooding and landslides at many places.
Rapti river, which flows through a large part of Nepal towards the southern plains, flooded human settlements and hotels popular with tourists in the Chitwan Valley.
All the 35 Indian nationals, who were stranded in Sauraha, a part of the Chitawan National Park, have been rescued, an Indian Embassy spokesperson said. They were rescued to safer place by using tamed elephants.
Earlier reports quoting local authorities had said that 200 Indian tourists were among the 700 stranded people, but the Indian Embassy official said only 35 of them were Indian nationals.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), at least 14 people were killed by landslide in Morang district, taking the death toll in the district to 17 and overall to 80. Thirty five people have been also missing since Friday.
The monsoon havoc has affected 27 districts spanning from the eastern, central to the western regions.
Nine persons were killed in Rautahat, eight in Sunsari, four each in Sarlahi, Sindhuli, Bara, Makawanpur and Banke districts while five persons were killed in Jhapa, three each in Dang and Surkhet and two each in Bardiya and Chitawan, besides nine others elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Nepal’s Energy Minister Mahendra Bahadur Sahi has claimed that the highways built along the no man’s land on the Indian side of the border are the major reasons behind the floods in the Terai.
“The highways made by elevating the land next to the Nepal-India border have restricted the natural flow of water, leaving Nepal’s Terai plains submerged during the rainy season,” Shahi said.
The government will take up the issue with India during Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s India visit slated for next week, Shahi said yesterday.
A total of 34,843 houses were inundated across the plains. More than 1,000 houses were destroyed in floods that killed an estimated 400 livestock, the Kathmandu Post reported.
The government has mobilised Nepal Police, Nepali Army and Armed Police Force personnel for rescue and recovery work.
The rainfall is likely to continue in the next few days as predicted by the Meteorological Forecasting Division.
Weathermen have said the extreme rainfall, starting from eastern Nepal, witnessed in the last few days was caused by the formation of a low pressure zone over the hills.
The monsoon was gradually getting weaker in the east and moving towards the west, it added.
