Two Women Search for Missing Husbands Lost in BhoteKoshi Flood

Chitwan. At exactly 5 PM on Saturday, two women alighted in front of the Industrial Association building in Bharatpur-10, Chitwan. There were photographs of bodies of those who died in floods and landslides and those whose identities could not be ascertained. More than the immense fatigue of the journey, their faces clearly showed 10 days of restlessness, wandering steps, and tears in their eyes. From BhoteKoshi in Sindhupalchok to here, there is no count of how many times they wiped their tears along the way, how many times they strengthened their resolve. They are Goma BK and Phoolmaya BK. Cousins by relation, they are today drowned in the same calamity and the same tears. The husbands of these sisters from Tatopani, BhoteKoshi in Sindhupalchok, Purna BK and Shuklal BK (brothers), are missing in the fierce flood of BhoteKoshi.

It has been 11 days since the flood swept away their husbands, but the tears in their eyes have not dried. Exhausted from searching every avenue, a knot of grief tightens in their hearts. Sometimes they become emotional, sobbing, sometimes they stare blankly. Then, remembering the faces of their small children, they wipe their tears and try to console themselves.