NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has temporarily suspended the Indo-Nepal Maitri Bus Sewa for two days as massive flash floods in Nepal have disrupted road connectivity along the Delhi-Kathmandu route, news agency PTI reported quoting officials on Thursday.The decision comes as Nepal grapples with a devastating flood emergency, with hundreds dead and hundreds more missing or out of contact.According to an official order cited by PTI, road transportation has been completely shut on the National Highway on the Delhi-Kathmandu route in Nepal following the flash floods.As a preventive measure, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has put on hold its scheduled August 28 services between Delhi and Kathmandu in both directions. A scheduled trip by a Nepali bus on August 29 has also been held up, the order said.The Delhi government had introduced the Delhi-Kathmandu-Delhi international bus service in 2014. The buses leave Delhi at 10 am and travel through Uttar Pradesh before crossing into Nepal through the Sonauli check-post near Gorakhpur, according to PTI.Toll climbs to 359The suspension of the bus service comes amid a rapidly worsening situation in flood-hit Nepal.According to the latest update from Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), the death toll from the devastating flash floods has climbed to 359, while 910 people remain missing or out of contact, news agency ANI reported.The figures, issued in the Rasuwa Bhotekoshi Flood Search, Rescue and Relief Update up to 6.20pm local time on Thursday, cover casualties across eight districts.Chitwan has recorded the highest number of deaths at 132, followed by Nawalparasi East with 82, Dhading with 33, Gorkha with 30, Nuwakot with 28, Tanahun with 22, Rasuwa with 17 and Nawalparasi West with 15, according to ANI.The Gorkha figure also includes recovered human body parts.Hundreds remain missing as rescue operations intensifyThe missing and out-of-contact figures include personnel from Nepal’s security and government agencies. Among them are 28 Nepal Police personnel, 44 Nepal Army personnel, 13 Armed Police Force personnel, 15 Customs Office personnel and four Immigration Office personnel, ANI reported.Rasuwa has reported 161 people missing or out of contact, while one person has been reported missing in Nuwakot.The disaster has also affected foreign nationals, with 517 foreign citizens listed as missing or out of contact. Another 127 Nepali citizens living abroad who were visiting the country have been listed among those affected.At least 73 people have been injured, including 43 in Rasuwa, three in Dhading and 27 in Nuwakot, according to the NDRRMA figures cited by ANI.Over 13,000 security personnel deployedAuthorities have stepped up rescue and relief operations across the affected regions.A total of 13,295 security personnel have been deployed, including 7,250 Nepal Police personnel, 4,200 Nepal Army personnel and 1,845 Armed Police Force personnel, ANI reported.Helicopters rescued 716 people during 69 rescue flights on Thursday, including 50 foreign nationals. Another 756 people were rescued by land.Relief supplies are also being moved into the affected areas. Ten trucks carrying essential items such as noodles, biscuits, sleeping bags, mattresses and blankets have been dispatched, while communication equipment and additional food and non-food supplies are being transported by helicopter, according to ANI.Fresh flood threat adds to Nepal’s crisisEven as rescue teams search for survivors, authorities are warning of another potentially major flood in the Bhotekoshi River system.A fresh threat has emerged after the Lhende River was obstructed upstream, resulting in the formation of a lake. Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said information received from China through the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the river had been blocked at the site where Wednesday’s devastating flash flood occurred, ANI reported.The resulting lake is continuing to rise, raising fears of a possible outburst and another major flood downstream.NDRRMA said the obstruction is located around 18 km upstream of the Rasuwagadhi border, with the newly formed lake covering approximately 0.11 square kilometres.Authorities have urged residents living along the lower banks of the Bhotekoshi, passengers and rescue personnel to stay away from riverbanks and other vulnerable areas and remain in safe locations until further notice.The fresh warning has added urgency to rescue efforts already underway following Wednesday’s flash floods near the Nepal-China border in the Rasuwagadhi area, which caused widespread deaths and damage to homes, roads and critical infrastructure.Against this backdrop, the temporary suspension of the Delhi-Kathmandu bus service is aimed at preventing travellers from being exposed to the continuing flood and road-connectivity risks in Nepal.(With agency inputs)
