KATHMANDU: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Chair Rabi Lamichhane has said that the state is standing as a shield to protect the lives of its citizens in the aftermath of the devastating disaster.
Addressing the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Lamichhane said the state is currently engaged in search and rescue operations for citizens trapped under rubble and inside tunnels following the disaster on August 26.
“I hear people asking, ‘Where is the state? What has the state done?’ The state is working day and night to provide shelter and support to citizens who have lost everything and are now living under the open sky,” Lamichhane said. He said the state is working not only to restore roads washed away and bridges destroyed by floods but also to rebuild the trust of citizens shaken by the disaster.
Acknowledging that resources and technology are limited, Lamichhane said the government is utilizing all available skills, capabilities and resources to the fullest.
“The state is searching for its citizens trapped in devastating rubble and tunnels. It is working day and night to provide shelter and support to our brothers and sisters who have lost everything and are now living under the open sky,” he said. According to Lamichhane, the state is also preparing a blueprint for stronger disaster preparedness and safer infrastructure to ensure that such devastating disasters do not have to be experienced again in the future.
“The state is currently standing as a shield to protect the lives of its citizens, setting aside its limitations, lack of resources and fatigue,” he added.
Likewise, Lamichhane said Nepal must “knock on the door of climate justice” for those who lost their lives in the Bhote Koshi flood.
Describing those killed in the Bhote Koshi flood as “victims of climate injustice,” he said they lost their lives through no fault of their own. “Those who lost their lives in the Bhote Koshi flood are victims of climate injustice,” Lamichhane said.
He stressed the need to take initiatives to seek justice for the victims and called for turning the loss of lives into a basis for pursuing climate justice.
“We must resolve to knock on the door of climate justice by making this loss a means of seeking climate justice,” he said.
