न्यूज अभियान
हरेक खबर विशेष खबर

Jumla, Sept 20: In a heartbreaking farewell to loved ones who would never returned, families in Patarasi rural municipality-5, Jumla district have performed collective funeral rites of 10 people who went missing in the Bhotekoshi floods.
With no bodies recovered and no word from their relatives for days, the families made symbolic bodies from kusha, a sacred grass traditionally used in Hindu funeral rituals, and performed the cremation along the banks of the Patarasi River.
Patarasi rural municipality Vice-Chairperson Janamaya Rokaya shared that 10 people from Jumla had been working for a long time at the Hanku Besi Hydropower project in Rasuwa district.
They were swept away by the raging Bhotekoshi River on August 26.
The 10 victims were from Mathilorpa village in ward no 5 of the rural municipality and were cremated collectively on last Saturday.
Two more people from Talilorpa village were given similar funeral rites on Sunday, informed local community leader Bhakta Budha.
The entire Patarasi community has plunged into mourning following the tragedy. For families who have spent weeks waiting for news that never came, the symbolic funerals marked a painful moment of acceptance.
"Since there has been no news of our relatives even after so many days, we had no choice but to create symbolic bodies from kusha and perform the final rites," local resident Krishna Budha said explaining the ritual.
According to Vice-Chairperson Rokaya, 49 people from Patarasi alone remain unaccounted for following the devastating disaster.
Chief District Officer of Jumla, Tej Prakash Prasai, shared that search efforts for those missing is underway but the prolonged uncertainty has left families devastated and increasingly desperate.
Altogether 93 people from Jumla were initially reported missing after the Bhotekoshi flood.
So far, 30 have been traced and contacted while the whereabouts of 63 remain unknown till date, mentioned Prasai.