BHUBANESWAR: Anxiety has gripped Nepali students pursuing higher education at different institutions in the state capital as they await news of those affected by the devastating flash flood that hit their homeland Nepal’s Himalayan region on Wednesday.
Far from home, the students are closely tracking updates of the affected areas. With disaster striking their homeland, focusing on study has also become difficult for them.
Darshit Sah, a Nepali student pursuing his BTech at ITER, said the tragic incident has left them extremely worried about their families and citizens back home. “It is one of the biggest natural calamities our country has witnessed in recent times,” said Sah.
He said the affected region was home to some of his high school mates. “I have been trying to establish contact with them, but it has not been possible. It could be due to communication problem or something else. However, I pray for safety of all affected there,” Sah said.
Sah said he had also visited Gosaikunda lake, a picturesque and sacred lake in Nepal’s Rasuwa district, two years back. “The lake is a major pilgrimage site for Hindus. According to Hindu belief, Lord Shiva created the lake to cool his throat after swallowing the Halahala poison during the Samudra Manthan. A grand mela is also held near the lake around August every year,” he said.
Aman Chaurasiya, another Nepali student pursuing his higher studies at SOA university, said news reports indicated that a glacier collapse in the Himalayas had triggered the catastrophic flooding. “A large section of the glacier broke away high above the Lhende river and the falling ice and rocks dammed the river. Shortly afterwards, the surge swept through settlements in Rasuwa,” he said.
Parts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Chitwan were among the worst-affected areas as the surge travelled downstream into Bhotekoshi and then Trishuli river, the students said.
The rising water level of Trishuli river is also a matter of concern, as the Bagmati river is connected to the Trishuli system and flows through the Terai region, from where many of the students studying in Odisha hail, one of them pointed out.
Some students said they usually stay in Nepal until September. However, as the academic session began early this year, they returned to Odisha in August.
With hundreds of people still missing and untraceable, the students said they were praying for the safety of their families, friends and fellow citizens back home and hoped their country would overcome the crisis at the earliest.
The students are also trying to establish contact with the people they know in the affected region and exploring ways to extend help. Sah said the international relations officials of their institutions are also in touch with them and guiding them during this critical time.
