The anguish of Harka Budha of Lamri village in Patarasi Rural Municipality in Jumla grows with each passing day. For more than three weeks, he has waited for news of his only son, Dhruba, who went missing after the Bhotekoshi floods on August 26.

The uncertainty has left Harka unable to eat or sleep. His family, which relies on farming for a living, had also depended heavily on Dhruba’s earnings. He had gone to Rasuwa a year ago to work as a labourer and was sending home between Rs28,000 and Rs40,000 every month. But he had not sent any money for the past three months.

Dhruba called home at around 9pm on August 25 to ask how everyone was doing.

“His work schedule had changed recently, and he was working during the day. He said he had eaten and was going to bed and would call me the next morning,” Harka said. “But there was no call, and I haven’t heard from him since.”

Surendra Budha’s family is living with the same uncertainty.

Surendra called his wife Bishnu Maya on the night of August 25 and asked about the family. A father of two daughters, aged two years and eight months, Surendra had gone to Rasuwa to earn a living and secure a better future for his family, Bishnu Maya said. He has also been out of contact since the disaster.

Surendra first went to Rasuwa in July last year and returned home in April. After spending three months with his family, he went back to Rasuwa for work in July. He used to send home about Rs30,000 a month.

Bishnu Maya, 57, is now left to care for their two young daughters on her own.

“He had asked about everyone’s health before going to bed that night. Since then, we have had no idea what happened to him,” she said.

Nineteen-year-old Kabita Budha has also spent more than three weeks waiting for her husband, Prakash Budha. The 21-year-old, who was working for Rasuwagadhi Hydropower Company Limited, has been missing since the disaster.

Their nine-month-old daughter keeps asking, “Where is Baba?”

Kabita married while she was still in school.

“Fate has taken away my happiness,” she said.

Fifteen young men from the village disappeared in the Bhotekoshi floods. Across Patarasi Rural Municipality, 49 people remain unaccounted for.

Families say they have received little information about efforts to find their missing relatives. They are particularly critical of the local government’s lack of response.

“It has been more than three weeks since the floods. No one from the government has come to the village to ask about our situation, nor has there been any search for those who are missing,” said Dal Bahadur Budha, whose 19-year-old son Santosh is among those unaccounted for. 

Santosh had gone to Rasuwa for work while studying in Grade 11. When his father, Dal Bahadur, heard that his son was missing, he flew to Kathmandu and travelled to Trishuli to search for him. But the army refused to take him by helicopter into the flood-hit area.

“Because we have no access to those in government, there was no timely rescue and no effort to recover the bodies,” Dal Bahadur said. “Instead, hearing every day that rescue operations are underway only deepens our pain.”

After there was no progress, he returned home after 10 days.

“I told him not to go to Rasuwa for work. I told him to complete Grade 12 and then get a visa to go abroad, but he wouldn’t listen,” Dal Bahadur said. “I don’t even know whether my son is among those the state says it is searching for.”

Santosh had married only in June.

A village without young men

Lamri now appears almost devoid of young people. Many had gone to Rasuwa temporarily to earn money before seeking work abroad. Some had already obtained visas and were preparing to leave.

Lamri has 115 households, and young people from more than 20 families are already working abroad.

Among those waiting anxiously is 51-year-old Chandra Rupa Bohara, who watches the road each day hoping her missing sons will come.

Her middle son, 27-year-old Lal Singh Bohara, and youngest son, 24-year-old Ganesh, had travelled to Kathmandu in July to obtain visas for Malaysia. Their visas were approved, and they were due to fly after Dashain. 

After obtaining the visas, Lal Singh called his mother.

“Mother, we have got our visas, but it looks like the flight will be delayed. Until then, we’ll go to Rasuwa and work as daily-wage labourers,” he told her.

Lal Singh and Ganesh were working inside Tunnel No 3 at the 216 MW Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Haku, Rasuwa, when the flash flood hit. Neither has been heard from since.

“When they said they would work in Rasuwa for two months, I thought at least they would earn some money,” Chandra Rupa said. “Now neither of my sons has come home, and we don’t know whether they are alive or dead.”

Her husband died seven years ago. Of her three sons, the eldest, Ram Bahadur, lives separately. Lal Singh and Ganesh lived with her.

Lal Singh had completed Grade 8, while Ganesh had finished Grade 12.

Lal Singh’s wife, Chandra Maya, has been ill for two years. She has a 21-month-old daughter and is six months pregnant. A neck problem has left her unable to move properly.

Her husband had taken her for treatment as recently as March.

“The doctor told us to bring her back for another check-up. Now who will pay for my daughter-in-law’s treatment?” Chandra Rupa said.

The treatment had cost Rs700,000. The brothers had planned to go abroad partly to repay loans taken from a cooperative and relatives to pay for Chandra Maya’s medical expenses.

“There is no other source of income for our family. It is already difficult to make ends meet through farming and collecting medicinal herbs, and on top of that, I have this health problem,” Chandra Maya said.

Families left waiting

According to the District Administration Office, 63 people from Jumla remain unaccounted for following the floods. Of them, 49 are from Patarasi, nine from Guthichaur, four from Chandannath, and one from Sinja.

Kalpana Nepal Acharya, head of the Karnali provincial office of the National Human Rights Commission, visited the homes of families whose young relatives went missing in the floods. She said their situation was extremely difficult.

“It is now necessary for everyone to come together to provide relief and psychosocial counselling to these families,” she said.

Chief District Officer Tej Prakash Prasain said efforts were underway to provide relief and support the search.

“In the first phase, we provided Rs41,000 to each affected family. We are also collecting more relief. In coordination with the rural municipality, we are setting up a relief fund and will distribute the assistance soon,” he said.

Blood samples from relatives of missing people have been collected and sent to Kathmandu for DNA testing to help identify bodies recovered after the floods.

Blood samples have been collected from relatives of all 49 missing people from Patarasi’s Lamri, Tirkhu, Upper Lorpa, Lower Lorpa, Bata and Japna villages.

“Some relatives appear to have already provided blood samples in Kathmandu and at the Karnali Academy of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital in Jumla,” said Kiran Sharma, the rural municipality’s public health chief. “For the remaining relatives, we have collected samples at Patarasi Rural Municipality.”

For families such as Harka’s, Bishnu Maya’s, Kabita’s and Chandra Rupa’s, however, the wait continues. There has been no phone call, no confirmed information and, in many cases, no body to bring home.