Kathmandu— Three Dalit laborers from the same ward of Saptari have gone missing following the floods in the Bhotekoshi area of Rasuwa, leaving their families in distress. Bechan Sada, Surendra Sada, and Shiva Kumar Sada, all working as laborers at the Trishuli Hydropower Project, have been out of contact for over a week, affecting the lives of their children and elderly parents.

Missing Laborers

Surendra Sada and Shiva Kumar Sada, also from the same ward, have been missing since the flood. They too were working as laborers at the powerhouse of the Trishuli 3-B Hydropower Project. They have also remained out of contact with their families since the flooding. With Shiva Kumar, the family’s only breadwinner, missing, the daily life of the seven-member family has been severely affected, his wife Gudiya said. The situation of Surendra Sada’s family is similar. He has three children. His wife, Dropati Devi Sada, said the family was struggling to put food on the table after its sole earning member went missing.

Local Community Response

Local youths and women from Rajbiraj Municipality-16 and Rajbiraj Municipality-6 provided relief materials through their own initiative and financial contributions. On Sunday, they provided food and other essential supplies to the families of Bechan, Shiva Kumar, and Surendra. Local health worker Ramchandra Yadav said the families were provided with essential daily-use items as immediate assistance. Each family received one sack of rice, one sack of beaten rice, one carton of instant noodles, three kilograms of lentils, two kilograms of salt, soya beans, four kilograms of potatoes, two kilograms of onions, one litre of cooking oil, spices including coriander, chilli and cumin, and firewood. Bechan’s children said the support from locals had provided some immediate relief as food supplies at home were running out.

(With inputs from RN)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.