NPR Adds Analyst's Explanation for Nepal's Flood Response
A recent update to an NPR article on Nepal's response to the recent floods has added a new perspective on the country's hesitation to accept foreign aid. Political analyst Chandradev Bhatta is quoted as saying that the government's initial reluctance to accept help was likely driven by concerns about foreign interference, citing Nepal's experience with China's influence during the 2015 earthquake reconstruction phase. Bhatta notes that the government's stance backfired, sparking criticism on social media and potentially leading to more lives lost due to delayed rescue efforts. The addition of Bhatta's analysis provides insight into the complex geopolitical dynamics at play in Nepal's disaster response.
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KATHMANDU, Nepal — As authorities in Nepal scramble to rescue more than 900 workers trapped in hydropower tunnels that are still under construction, a top group of the country's private sector power producers has criticized the government's initial hesitance in accepting help from other countries.
The floods and mudslides that were triggered by last week's ice-and-rock avalanche have buried several Himalayan villages in the border region of Nepal and Tibet.
At least 85 of those missing are Americans, the State Department said on Sunday.
The debris created by the various landslides has also blocked nine hydropower tunnels in Nepal's Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, trapping 933 workers from Nepal, South Korea and China. Videos shared by the Nepali army show rescue personnel using drills and excavator machines to try to rescue those who were trapped.
Bhim Gautam, chief executive officer of the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal, told NPR that Nepal does not have "enough technology, equipment and expertise" to mount successful rescue operations at hydropower projects. "Our expertise is only in dealing with small flooding.
Last week's floods, he said, not only blocked the entrances of the tunnels, but also made them difficult to locate. "In some cases, the rescue workers spent three days only in finding these tunnels."
He said his industry's leaders had to "pressure the government" to allow rescue workers from other countries. "Late last week, the government approved rescue teams from China, India and Australia to come," Gautam said.
It insisted that the country's release of information about the floods and mudslide near its border with Nepal had been transparent and timely.
China's last update to casualty figures came on Saturday, when state news agency Xinhua reported there were 16 people confirmed dead and 546 missing. Those numbers have not been updated in more than 48 hours.
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− Asia Nepal's hesitance to accept foreign help for flood relief under scrutiny August 31, 20267:50 AM ET By
Mamita Bhandari
,
Omkar Khandekar
A drone view shows the aftermath of flash flooding along the Trishuli River amid a freshwater surge warning in the Trishuli Bazaar area of Nuwakot district in Nepal on Sunday.
+ Asia Nepal's hesitance to accept foreign help for flood relief comes under scrutiny August 31, 20267:50 AM ET By
Mamita Bhandari
,
Omkar Khandekar
A drone view shows the aftermath of flash flooding along the Trishuli River amid a freshwater surge warning in the Trishuli Bazaar area of Nuwakot district in Nepal on Sunday.
− In a statement on Monday morning, local time, Nepal's disaster management department said 903 people have died and 4,247 are currently considered missing, a sharp rise from the previous figures.
+ World Families of pilgrims likely caught in floods are desperate for news from Nepal In a statement on Monday morning, local time, Nepal's disaster management department said 903 people have died and 4,247 are currently considered missing, a sharp rise from the previous figures.
− We have never faced a situation like this before," said Gautam.
+ We have never faced a situation like this before," Gautam said.
− "But it is so late now."
Nepal's finance minister, Swarnim Wagle, had last week rejected reports in local and international media that asserted the country had rejected help from foreign countries, insisting that assistance had been accepted only "according to the needs on the ground."
In a statement posted to Facebook on Sunday, Prime Minister Balen Shah said the Nepali army and police, along with experts from India, China and South Korea, were now carrying out rescue operations at various hydropower tunnels.
+ "But it is so late now."
Nepal's finance minister, Swarnim Wagle, had last week rejected reports in local and international media that asserted the country had rejected help from foreign countries, insisting that assistance had been accepted only "according to the needs on the ground."
World 'It's essentially been one long day': A daughter details search for parents in Nepal In a statement posted to Facebook on Sunday, Prime Minister Balen Shah said the Nepali army and police, along with experts from India, China and South Korea, were now carrying out rescue operations at various hydropower tunnels.
Army personnel conduct a search and rescue operation for flood victims along the Narayani river at Bharatpur in Nepal's Chitwan district on Sunday.
− The Nepali government has been contacted for comment.
+ Prakash Mathema/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The Nepali government has not responded to NPR's request for comment.
− Meanwhile, in China on Monday, the country's Foreign Ministry denied reports that officials in Beijing had ignored early warning signs of the disaster or downplayed the details of casualties.
+ Political analyst Chandradev Bhatta says Prime Minister Shah's government appears to have resisted foreign help for geopolitical reasons. He says the decision was likely influenced by Nepal's experience during the 2015 earthquake, which killed thousands in the country.
+ "During the reconstruction phase, there was a huge competition, not only between our two neighbors China and India, but also the Western powers, who wanted to project their geopolitical power in Kathmandu," says Bhatta, who is based in Kathmandu. By the end, he says, "China managed to gain a geopolitical foothold in the country."
Foreign interference, says Bhatta, is a sensitive topic for the Shah government, which came to power after mass student-led protests ousted the country's leadership and traditional parties, which were variously seen aligning with India, China or the West.
But the initial hesitation, he says, backfired, as people took to social media to criticize the government's seeming reluctance to accept help for rescue operations. Instagram user gen.znepal, among the many accounts created to mobilize last year's anti-government protests, wrote: "Please put your ultranationalism somewhere else and urge the government to accept whatever support we receive, from whichever country, right now."
Bhatta says the government seems to also have underestimated the scale of the damage. "Had we taken support right at the beginning, perhaps we would have been able to save more lives."
Meanwhile, in China on Monday, the country's Foreign Ministry denied reports that officials in Beijing had ignored early warning signs of the disaster or downplayed the details of casualties.
+ Mamita Bhandari reported from Kathmandu, Nepal; Omkar Khandekar reported from Mumbai, India.