Nepal, Christians alone rush to aid of flood victims
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - In less than 24 hours dozens of people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced by the floods that have hit Nepal. For the moment only the Church, its institutions and some NGOs are working to rescue the affected people. As every year, the population denounce, the government inaction has led to a lack of prevention and emergency measures.
Floods have swamped the western part of the country. The most
affected districts include Doti, Mahakali,
Kailali, Kanchanpur, Bardia, Dang, Banke,
Siraha, Saptari and
Nawalparasi, but 40
other districts reported a variety of
problems.
Minister of Information and government spokesman, Minendra Rijal, said: "We are aware of the
problem and we are trying to do our best with limited resources. The government is grateful
that several organizations, Christian and non, are helping the affected population".
According to the Central Disaster Management
Office at least 10 thousand
homes were damaged, 100 thousand people have been displaced and hundreds
more are in need of aid.
Pom Bahadur Pun,
who has been displaced from Jajarkot, says: "We risk our lives but the government is not doing enough to save us. We lost everything, but
we want to save our lives."
At the same time, however, he
adds, "we are very grateful for the
help and prayers of the Christians".
Krishna Chandra Ghimire,
chief district officer of Kanchanpur, said: "Many Christians
are offering prayers and Masses in the
refugee camps. This helps to calm
the victims a lot".
Every year Nepal is hit by massive floods which inevitable
cause at least 200 deaths and thousands of families displaced by landslides, mudslides and floods.
22/07/2020 15:36