Former PM Baburam Bhattarai Calls for Lessons from Flood Disaster

Kathmandu. Former Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has stated that Nepal and Nepalis must learn important lessons from the disaster of the catastrophic glacial flood that came through China's Tibet and Nepal's Rasuwa and take immediate and long-term actions. He also emphasized that such work should be done wisely and with restraint. Dr. Bhattarai stressed that under the immediate responsibility, all political parties, private and civil society organizations, and the general public should, without any ifs or buts, focus entirely on the search, rescue, treatment, relief, and rehabilitation of those affected by the disaster under the leadership of the government. He also stated that priority should be given to the planned initiative to quickly arrange alternative essential communication, transportation, drinking water, housing, food, health, education, security, administration, and finance infrastructure and services that were washed away, submerged, destroyed, or broken by the flood. 'Let us mobilize resources from the state, community, private sector, and international community under a one-door system under the leadership of governments at all levels to arrange the necessary resources in large quantities,' Dr. Bhattarai said through social media. Dr. Bhattarai's 5 Long-Term Responsibilities 1. First of all, let us all remember the story of 'The Shepherd and the Wolf' that we heard/read in childhood and learn a good lesson in the context of the disaster caused by current environmental destruction. (For those who have forgotten, the story is briefly as follows: A shepherd used to shout 'The wolf is coming, the wolf is coming, help!' When the villagers came to help, he would laugh heartily. He repeatedly enjoyed deceiving others like this. One day, a wolf actually came. The villagers ignored him. The wolf killed all the sheep. The shepherd cried and repented. The end.) 2. Many national and international experts have been saying that the main reason for natural disasters such as floods, landslides, excessive rainfall, and drought in our Himalayan region in recent times is the rampant environmental destruction taking place in this region. For that, they are saying that we should pay special attention to our overall development and construction, energy, land use, water resources, housing, urbanization, and biodiversity policies and take integrated initiatives with neighboring countries connected to the Himalayan region. But we are walking on a path of deceiving ourselves and causing disaster, like the shepherd in the story. This must be corrected now, let's correct it. 3. Specifically, let us now abandon the current chaotic and directionless path of destruction in the name of development and formulate policies and plans for the overall, integrated, and sustainable development of the country and implement them with determination in collaboration with governments at all three levels, the private sector, and the community. 4. Let us work in a planned manner in the context of the reconstruction of the flood-affected areas caused by the current glacial flood. At least, let's not build settlements on unsafe riverbanks, assessing the future. Let's manage settlements, physical infrastructure, hydropower projects, communication systems, service delivery systems, and environmental conservation by determining land use policies according to the characteristics and possibilities of the Himalayan, hilly, and plain regions. 5. Let's assess potential future disasters like this and adopt a planned and sustainable development path for the entire country in line with this model work. Accordingly, let's follow overall national policies in a way that becomes a 'dynamic bridge' between the two big neighbors. (It is not unnatural for the country to expect this much from the current government with a strong mandate and a youth majority.)