In a unique recognition for NDTV’s Nepal coverage, a Durga Puja pandal in Odisha’s capital, Bhubaneswar, showcased a cutout portrait of Contributing Editor and Senior Anchor Sikta Deo.
We saw helicopters getting the equipment and generators down,” she reported. The floods, which were triggered by the collapse of a glacier, wiped out thousands of houses and washed away bridges, communication infrastructure, roads, electricity poles and grids. The nation had come to a standstill, and access to the affected areas had become difficult. “We decided to move and trek to the dead end of the Nepal-Tibet road, which led to Syaphrubesi, then Timure Bazaar, and then the Tibet border. We reached the last point, being the only media to bring in those close visuals of the massive destruction that hit Nepal from Tibet. Bridges and roads washed away. Police posts, customs offices, hotels, and restaurants, all submerged. At the dead end was the Chilime hydro project tunnel, where we could see rescue workers and disaster management officials working relentlessly to open the tunnel.
The devastating Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river floods on August 26 killed 1,451 people in Nepal. 5,745 people, including scores of Indians, remain missing. On the Chinese side, 43 people died and 519 are missing.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah told the United Nations last month that the flooding “was a warning to the world” about the growing dangers of climate change.
