Political parties have called for a unified response to the devastation caused by the Bhotekoshi floods, while opposition leaders have criticised the government over delays in rescuing people believed trapped inside hydropower tunnels.

Speaking in the House on Wednesday, Nepali Communist Party coordinator and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called for a broad national mobilisation to respond to the disaster, saying security forces alone could not handle the scale of the crisis.

“All levels of government, elected representatives, civil society and the public must be mobilised to confront the Bhotekoshi disaster,” Dahal said. He urged the government to correct any shortcomings in the search and rescue effort and focus on relief, immediate resettlement and long-term reconstruction.

Dahal also said Nepal should step up its campaign for climate justice as climate change increases risks in the Himalayan region.

Bhishma Raj Angdembe, parliamentary leader of the main opposition Nepali Congress, said the government had been too slow to bring in the technology and expertise needed to rescue people trapped underground.

“Delays in the search and rescue of citizens trapped inside tunnels are inhumane and serious,” Angdembe said. He argued that the first 72 hours after such an incident were critical and that the government should have sought private and international expertise immediately.

The criticism came after Prime Minister Balendra Shah said Nepal did not have the technology needed to carry out such a rescue and that similar expertise was not readily available elsewhere. The prime minister said the situation was fundamentally different from previous tunnel rescue operations.

Angdembe said the government should have drawn on Nepal’s experience after the 2015 earthquake, when international search-and-rescue teams arrived within hours. He accused the government of focusing too much on publicity and social media while rescue operations lagged.

“This is not a time for publicity. It is a time to save lives,” Angdembe said.

Despite his criticism, Angdembe said the Nepali Congress stood with the government in responding to the disaster and that all political sides should work together on rescue, relief and recovery.

Ganesh Parajuli, deputy parliamentary leader of ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party, meanwhile, urged the government and media to distinguish between the flood-hit areas and the rest of Nepal, warning against portraying the entire country as unsafe.

He said the disaster was concentrated along the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river system and urged the government, foreign missions and international media to provide precise information about affected and safe areas so that the disaster did not unnecessarily damage Nepal’s tourism industry.

The government has also begun framing the disaster as a climate issue.

At a separate meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Environment, Minister Gita Chaudhary consulted climate experts on the Bhotekoshi floods and the damage they caused. She said climate change and environmental issues should be elevated to national priorities and that Nepal should take a stronger position on climate justice internationally.

The experts recommended a scientific study into the causes and impacts of the disaster, stronger early-warning systems, a detailed assessment of losses and damage and greater mobilisation of international climate finance. They also urged Nepal to make the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster a priority at international climate forums, including the upcoming COP31.

They recommended establishing a dedicated loss-and-damage fund for the affected region and developing a clear national position on climate justice and the Himalayan agenda.