Nepal has suspended search and rescue operations following the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli floods except in emergencies, shifting the focus towards reconstruction and rehabilitation in the affected areas.

A meeting of the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, chaired by Prime Minister Balendra Shah at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers on Monday, directed the relevant agencies to intensify reconstruction and recovery work while continuing necessary search operations.

The decision was based on recommendations from district security committees, district disaster management committees, the executive committee of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) and field assessments, according to the prime minister’s secretariat.

The council also decided to recommend a Rs559.17 billion budget to the finance ministry for 504 plans and programmes submitted by various ministries and government agencies for reconstruction and rehabilitation in the affected areas.

The funding for the approved programmes will be arranged through the finance ministry under the Financial Procedures and Fiscal Responsibility Regulations, 2020.

The council also directed the NDRRMA to recommend funding for projects whose cost estimates have yet to be finalised or which have not yet been prioritised once details are submitted.

Prime Minister Shah said disaster management efforts had been carried out through coordination among the federal, provincial and local governments and that reconstruction and rehabilitation would follow the same approach.