After 10 days of the devastating flood in Rasuwa's Bhotekoshi, two people were rescued alive from the tunnel of the Trishuli-3 'A' hydroelectric project.

The project's mechanical foreman Sanjay Shah and mechanical supervisor Kavir Maharjan, who were trapped inside the tunnel after the flood on August 10, were rescued alive on Friday. The fact that they were found alive after being inside the tunnel for 10 days has given a message that there is still time and possibility for rescue.

Preparations are being made to bring both the rescued people to Kathmandu for treatment. However, there is still a suspicion that other people are trapped inside the tunnel. Nepali Army, Armed Police and technical teams are continuing their search and rescue.

With the rescue of two people alive, more pressure has been put on the government to search for thousands of citizens who went missing after the flood. As of Friday afternoon, the number of bodies found in floods and landslides has reached 1,295, while 4,898 people are still missing, police said.

According to Central Police Spokesperson Avinarayan Kafle, 1,293 dead bodies have been found in Rasuwa, 186 in Nuwakot, 65 in Dhading, 359 in Chitwan, 72 in Gorkha, 38 in Tanahun, 221 in Nawalparasi East, 194 in Nawalparasi West and 18 found in India and handed over to Nawalparasi West. After two more people died during treatment, the death toll has reached 1,295.

Two thousand 106 DNA samples have been collected for body identification, 1,260 of the deceased and 846 of the relatives. Police said that 1,030 dead bodies have been managed so far. Details of 1,263 bodies yet to be identified have been placed on the Nepal Police website.

Meanwhile, questions are being raised from the political level about the speed and priority of the rescue. After two people were rescued alive from the tunnel of Trishuli-3 'A', the leader of the parliamentary party of Rashtriya Prajatantra Party, Gyanendra Shahi, has asked the government to show more activity in the rescue work.

Shahi said that it has been confirmed that people are still alive inside the tunnel and urged the government not to politicize the rescue and use all the resources available to the state to save one life at a time. His insistence that 'rescue should not be stopped as long as there is hope' has conveyed the message that rescue should be kept above political disputes during disasters.

CPN-UML MP Ain Mahar also said that the rescue of two people alive gave hope. Claiming that the rescue work has not yet started in five tunnels, he requested the government to carry out the rescue operation in all the tunnels simultaneously.

On the other hand, Sagar Dhakal, a member of Parliament of the ruling Rashtriya Swatantra Party, who was active in the campaign while sitting at the rescue site, said that the rescue of two people alive was a partial success in human terms, but it was a great achievement from an engineering point of view.

According to Dhakal, there is cooperation and cooperation between all the parties in the field in the rescue operation. However, he said, the negative information spread in the media has hindered the rescue work to some extent. He said that even some senior political leaders were affected by the negative information in the media.

Dhakal said that if there was another 24-hour delay in the rescue, the situation could have turned to failure and responded that "God helped" at the last moment. Asking them not to criticize or make fun of the rescue workers working day and night in the field, he said that positive thinking is necessary for nation building.

On behalf of the government, Home Minister Sudan Gurung has also interpreted the rescue of two people alive after 10 days as a 'ray of hope'. He thanked the team of Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Central Command Center for the rescue despite the difficult challenges.

Home Minister Gurung has also highly appreciated the continuous efforts of MP Sagar Dhakal and Shriram Neupane in the rescue operation. According to him, rescue teams are still operating continuously in all the tunnels.

After it has been confirmed that it is possible to survive inside the tunnel for 10 days, there should be no delay in mobilizing all the technology, manpower and resources available with the government to speed up the search and rescue of those trapped in other tunnels.

The human damage caused by the Bhotekoshi flood disaster is huge. Thousands of citizens are missing, more than a thousand bodies have been found and thousands of families have been displaced. In such a situation, the rescue of two people alive is not only a rescue incident, but also a strong proof that the rest of the lives can be saved in the midst of despair.

Therefore, the government's priority now is to increase the speed of rescue. It seems that all the power of the state should be mobilized to save the lives of those trapped in tunnels and other risky areas, rising above political accusations, disputes over information or the excuse of limited resources.

Sanjay Shah and Kavir Maharjan coming out of the tunnel alive after 10 days is a great message of hope in itself. Turning this hope given by their rescue into results in the search for the remaining missing has become the biggest test of the government and the rescue mechanism.

Published: 19 Bhadra 2083 16:00 Friday