Total death toll for Trishuli Valley flood likely go pass 7,000. But na only 1,453 bodies dem don recover, and less than 10% of dem don identify. This kind gap between recovery and identification more than one month after 26 August catastrophe show how huge this disaster be.
For families of missing people, the work don be most grueling, and sometimes gruesome. Dem don waka through graphic photos of hundreds of corpses for hospital morgues, give DNA samples, and wait for news. Then wait some more. This lack of closure don stretch the trauma of loss for many families inside Nepal and abroad.
Forensic experts talk say with Nepal resources, and even with outside help, e fit take months to identify remains for morgues and temporary mass burial sites deep inside forests of Chitwan, Gokarna, Pokhara and Nawalparasi.
Forensic expert Harihar Wasti, who worked to exhume bodies during Maoist conflict, talk say dem need speed up as much as dem can, but human resources and technical expertise dey cause issues. He talk say wetin government for do na to set up Disaster Victim Identification Team to manage the whole thing better. He add say e go take another six months or even one year for all bodies and body parts to identify. For meantime, dem must make sure social protection mechanisms for survivors dey in place and dey work.
Most families don give up hope of ever finding remains of their loved ones and hold symbolic funerals. Others don question why DNA identification dey happen for only two government facilities: Central Forensic Science Laboratory and National Forensic Science Laboratory.
India, China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and United States whose nationals dey among 650 people from 38 countries still missing, don also send forensic experts and equipment. Till this week, only 112 bodies dem don identify and hand over to relatives. Family members don submit 2,060 DNA samples, and 1,329 tissue samples dem collect from recovered bodies. The labs dey race against time to identify remaining 1,341 recovered bodies.
Dibesh Karmacharya of Centre for Molecular Dynamics Nepal talk say the number of bodies or parts recovered no be large processing number, but several factors fit dey cause backlog. First, how many bodies or parts dem recover, from where, and in wetin condition. Next, na DNA database with samples of next of kin. Karmacharya surprise say only 10% of recovered bodies dem don identify so far despite international support. He talk say e low, and private facilities like their own get technical know-how and capacity to help. He no understand why government dey seek more expensive and time-consuming international partners when domestic expertise dey readily available.
Other experts talk say fingerprint examination of bodies recovered after first few days, matched with official documents, for speed up ID. Extracting DNA profiles from decomposed bodies or fragmented remains require complex processing of bone and teeth, and e dey take significantly longer than standard blood or soft-tissue extraction.
Delay get legal ramifications. If death certificate no dey, family members fit denied relief, compensation and insurance. This one fit affect children wey lose both parents for flood but cannot be declared orphaned and get access to limited state benefits. Their parents technically dey missing, not dead.
Section 40 of Nepal National Civil Code 2017 talk say under normal circumstances, person no fit be declared dead until dem don miss for 12 years. But law for current form already get provision wey allow judicial declaration of death without wait period during disasters. Na why delay in issuing death certificates dey puzzling.
Advocate Indu Tuladhar explain say under Section 40(4) of Civil Code, if person disappear for natural disaster, relative fit immediately file for Judicial Declaration of Death for district court. She talk say necessary legal provisions already dey to address current crisis. Wetin dem suppose focus on na to streamline process for families, maybe by adding more officials, and deploying apex court in Rasuwa, Dhading and Nuwakot.
She add say the bigger legal issue fit be issuing citizenships to children whose parents and relatives all perish. If dem no document them all now, a few years down the line when everybody don forget this disaster, the children go face bigger legal battle.
Home Ministry don draft amendment to the statute to streamline death registration and relief for relatives wey lose kin for disasters.
