Flood Victims Face Legal Hurdles in Obtaining Death Certificates

Kathmandu. The aftermath of the devastation caused by the floods in the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers on August 10th still lingers in the courtyards of the victims in Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts. The floods not only swept away homes, businesses, and loved ones, but also stripped the survivors of their means of livelihood and legal identity. Thousands of people washed away and disappeared in the floods were neither found alive nor their bodies. Even after relatives accepted the harsh reality of their loved ones' deaths and performed final rites (Kajkiriya) by burning effigies made of Kush grass, they are still considered alive (missing) by the state.

Govinda Lamichhane, a teacher at Chandeshwori High School in Bidur-7, went missing in the Bhote Koshi flood. His family, seeing no hope of finding him alive, performed his final rites according to Hindu customs. Despite the family's final rites, the state still lists Lamichhane as missing. Although Kajkiriya is complete, his wife, Bhagawati Lamichhane, has not been able to obtain a death certificate from the ward office. Without a death certificate, she is deprived of various benefits from the state.