Nepal Ends Search for Thousands        10/08 06:14

   

   KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- The families of thousands of people who remain 
missing in Nepal weeks after catastrophic floods devastated the country have 
expressed mixed feelings after the government said this week that it is 
stopping the search for victims.

   The office of Prime Minister Balendra Shah decided on Monday that search and 
rescue operations for victims of the Aug. 26 floods will cease. Instead, 
authorities will concentrate on rehabilitation and reconstruction including 
restoring roads and bridges cut off by floods, particularly in remote areas 
where damaged infrastructure has made aid deliveries difficult.

   Rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of at least 1,455 people, but 
5,285 others remain missing, including hundreds of foreigners.

   The government estimates reconstruction and recovery will cost $4.77 
billion. Nearly 33,000 people have been affected and about 7,500 homes were 
damaged or destroyed.

   Hopes for finding survivors were briefly revived after two Nepalese workers 
were rescued from an underground tunnel at the Trishuli hydropower project on 
Sept. 4, and again two days later when rescuers found a Chinese man at the same 
location.

   Families of victims have held protests and vigils in Nepal, calling for 
search efforts to be improved.

   "I am so angry at the government for giving up on search and rescue with 
thousands of people still missing. I just don't understand how they can do that 
when we still have hope left that our loved one can still be found," said Usha 
Khatri, who has spent days searching for her husband in multiple towns where 
the river flows and bodies have been recovered.

   During her ongoing search she has checked photos of bodies that were 
recovered but buried for preservation until identification is made.

   "Either they have to give up the body or show some solid proof that my 
husband is gone and only then can they declare him dead," Khatri said.

   "They have abandoned us and they should not have stopped the search," said 
Mahesh Shrestha, whose brother was an engineer at a hydropower plant that was 
hit. "Our family demand they continue looking for him."

   Others welcomed the decision and said they are seeking government-issued 
death certificates.

   "After so many days and weeks there is little or no hope of finding anyone 
alive. We are sure that none of our family members survived and we are just 
looking for a closure," said Nirajan Poudel, who lost five family members in 
the flood.

   Several people whose relatives remain missing have performed symbolic 
funerals. Cremation is an important final rite in the Hindu tradition and 
performing the ceremony even without a body provides a sense of spiritual 
release for some families.

   Poudel said the government has so far refused to issue death certificates, 
saying laws need to be amended first. Death certificates are necessary in Nepal 
for families to receive compensation, insurance and inherit properties.

   Nepal's government did not immediately respond to a request by The 
Associated Press for more information about the death certificates.