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The government of Bangladesh is preparing to issue a red notice through Interpol to bring back those involved in the mass killings of July and August, including Sheikh Hasina and the fugitives. Law Affairs Adviser to the government, Asif Nazrul, said this during an interaction with the media. 

Regarding a specific complaint from the Awami League to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the law affairs adviser said, without divulging the details, that the ICC is unlikely to accept the complaint. He said the Awami League’s complaint was filed solely to tarnish the government’s reputation, and there is no reason to accept it.

Panauti: Ganesh Dahal sat on the debris of his collapsed house in Nayagaun, Panauti-2, speechless and in tears. After a while, he managed to ask through his grief, “Where will we go now?”

The 2015 earthquakes had already damaged Dahal’s house. He had somehow rebuilt it using government aid and loans. But the late September’s floods and landslides did not spare even that. Worse still, the landslide claimed the lives of his two-month-old granddaughter Prinsa and daughter-in-law Gopini. With earthquakes and now landslides repeatedly destroying his home and family, Dahal wonders if they need to abandon their village entirely. 

“Both my sons are insisting that we should leave this place and move elsewhere,” Dahal told ApEx. “But where else can we go? How will we survive?”

A village in mourning

Located southeast of Kathmandu, Nayagaun in Panauti-2 is in deep mourning. Dozens of houses have collapsed, many are cracked and residents have been forced to seek shelter with relatives or in rented rooms.  

Rain started falling on the night of Sept 26 and continued relentlessly for three days. Muddy water began flowing in streams and rivulets. On the morning of Sept 28, landslides began occurring in multiple locations across Nayagaun, swallowing homes and livestock. Twenty people lost their lives to landslides and floods in the Panauti Municipality alone. Locals now refer to September 28 as ‘the black day’. 

Ram Sharan Bhandari, the mayor of Panauti Municipality, said nearly 500 houses were completely destroyed. Over 2,000 livestock were buried. 

After the big loss of life and property, the government has declared this area a disaster-hit zone. The Panauti Municipality has appealed for support to rehabilitate displaced families and reconstruct damaged infrastructure.

Living in terror

Panauti-2 is where the Roshi River originates. The ward, with a population of about 4,500, now looks like ruins in many areas. Houses in upper areas are either collapsed or cracked. The ground has deep fissures. Those still living in cracked houses are in constant fear.

The landslides and floods destroyed homes and agricultural fields of many villagers, damaged the BP Highway, and completely destroyed 60 houses in Nayagaun alone. Ward-2 of Panauti Municipality is among the most affected areas.

“There isn’t a single settlement untouched by landslides. All villagers are affected. Houses are at risk and uninhabitable,” says Ward Chairperson of Panauti-2 Purushottam Adhikari. “Even houses that survived the floods and landslides are damaged,” Adhikari, 60, said. “In my lifetime, I had never witnessed such intense and continuous rainfall before this.”

While the 2015 earthquakes had devastated Nayagaun in Panauti-2, it had not caused ground fissures even though houses fell. The landslides, however, have left land deeply cracked. Dozens of landslides have blocked roads. Water pipes are broken, leaving the settlement without drinking water. Families who lost loved ones are in mourning. Some lost their cattle sheds. 

According to Ward Chairperson Adhikari, three people from the ward died after being buried by landslides. Thirty-five goats, nine buffaloes and seven cows were buried. “The landslide buried the livestock along with their sheds. We still haven’t been able to retrieve them,” said Adhikari. 

Suman Acharya, 29, recounts that terrifying morning. “When we woke up, the landslide had already taken away our courtyard. We all hurried to safety. I was carrying my 20-day-old son,” Acharya said as his voice choked. “Shortly after we left, another landslide swept our house. If we had delayed even a little, we would have all been buried together.”

The young want to leave

After houses and land developed cracks, young people are urging their parents to leave the village. However, elderly residents are reluctant to immediately abandon their ancestral land. For villagers whose main occupation is agriculture, staying in Nayagaun is no longer feasible. But questions like “Where to go?” and “What to do?” leave them paralyzed with indecision.

Those affected by floods and landslides want to relocate, but they face difficult questions: “How long can we stay in rented rooms? We don’t have land elsewhere to build houses. We can’t afford to buy land and build new houses. What should we do now?”

Ward Chairperson Adhikari led initial rescue efforts after the floods and landslides. Immediate arrangements were made for food and bedding. Locals recall how he went door-to-door carrying noodles and beaten rice, clearing landslide-blocked roads along the way. “We asked for help from acquaintances and  social workers. We distributed solar lights worth Rs 300,000 to villagers living in darkness. Despite limited resources, we distributed immediate relief including food,” said Adhikari. “The flood and landslide victims are demanding relocation to an integrated settlement. We’re hoping for support from provincial and federal governments for sustainable rehabilitation. Villagers cannot live safely in their homes anymore.”

The government has issued the Disaster Victim Rescue and Relief (Seventh Amendment) Standards, 2020 for the rescue and relief of disaster victims. The standards state: “The federal, provincial and local levels must make necessary arrangements for the study, research, planning and programming, budget and resource management to identify settlements at risk and implement appropriate measures such as settlement protection and relocation. Programs must be implemented to reduce the risk to such settlements.”

Crushers, quarries blamed

The Roshi River area is dotted with unregulated stone quarries and crusher industries. Before the disaster, excavators and large trucks operated freely throughout the river area. The noise of dozers and tipper trucks operating at night made it difficult for residents to sleep.

Dust and soil from the quarries, which were dumped into the river, were gradually filling the river up. Continuous rainfall changed the course of the Roshi River, causing it to enter settlements. Additionally, experts note that unplanned road expansion also contributed to triggering landslides.

Mayor Bhandari said excessive rainfall combined with stone quarries and crusher industries wreaked havoc on the settlements. Lawmaker Gokul Baskota also pointed to reckless stone quarrying and crusher operations as the main factors behind the need to relocate entire settlements.

Locals agree with Baskota's assessment. They are frustrated with the stone quarries and crusher industries run by influential individuals. Victims complain that they have been displaced due to the unrestricted operation of crusher industries and stone quarries.

“There is a stone quarry below Nayagaun. There also are crusher industries. The machines operating in the crusher industries have shaken the ground,” Baskota said. “Permission should never have been given to operate crusher industries. They are the main factor in destroying the settlement. We shouldn’t be tempted by revenue. Mining and water cannot coexist. We must protect water resources.”

Challenges in relocation

A month and a half ago, no one had imagined that they would have to abandon their homeland. Now, Nayagaun residents are ready to leave immediately if integrated settlements become available.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority has said that it was developing procedures for rehabilitating those displaced by floods and landslides. As per preliminary assessments, nearly 200 families from Wards 1 and 2 of Panauti Municipality need relocation. Ward-2 alone has decided to allocate a budget of Rs 2.2m for disaster response.

“No concrete conclusions have been reached yet about how to proceed with the relocation process. There is still uncertainty. No government-owned land has been found here so far,” said ward chair Adhikari. “The local government alone cannot handle this. Provincial and federal governments must also show concern and interest. They must help.”

Lawmaker Baskota also said that the state must provide land for those who have lost their homes and property. “The government must be accountable to citizens. The displaced must be relocated to safe settlements,” he said. “We need to find public land. Arrangements should be made within the same ward if possible, or in a convenient ward with integrated settlement planning. It should allow people to continue their traditional occupations.”

COP29, the 29th Conference of the Parties, opened on Monday with calls for urgent and united global action as leaders and experts highlighted the worsening climate crisis and the need for immediate action to meet the Paris Agreement goals. Addressing the gathering, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell underscored the need for resilience and determination, recalling his neighbor Florence, an 85-year-old climate victim, as a symbol of humanity’s tenacity in the face of escalating environmental impacts.

Stiell emphasized the necessity of establishing a new global climate finance goal and a functional international carbon market to combat climate change. “If at least two-thirds of the world’s nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price,” he said, noting that climate finance should be viewed as a self-interested investment rather than charity.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo issued a “red alert” over rising temperatures, as the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned that 2024 is on track to be the hottest year in recorded history. She described recent extreme weather events as “our new reality” and stressed that every fraction of warming increases risks worldwide. The latest WMO report revealed that 2023’s greenhouse gas levels are at record high, accelerating sea-level rise and extreme weather events across the globe.

New COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev of Azerbaijan urged attendees to see COP29 as a “moment of truth” for the Paris Agreement, highlighting that climate impacts are already evident in events like hurricanes, droughts and floods. “We are on the road to ruin,” he warned, calling for tangible leadership beyond rhetoric.

Nepal’s delegation under President Ramchandra Paudel will advocate for climate finance to support vulnerable mountain regions facing disasters such as glacial outbursts. 

The conference aims to address key issues, including setting climate finance targets, finalizing international carbon trading mechanisms, and increasing adaptation efforts. As COP29 unfolds, developing countries like Nepal are pushing for decisive measures to protect vulnerable communities and ecosystems from climate impacts.

A flash flood and mudslide struck Thame village in Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality of Solukhumbu district on August 16. The villagers had not anticipated such a disaster. In an instant, the flash flood transformed Thame village into barren land.

For Tasi Lhamu Sherpa, Vice-chairperson of Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality, the sudden event still feels like a dream. “We are vulnerable to climate-induced risks,” he said, adding, “People here are still worried about the possibility of avalanches.”

The disaster was triggered by continuous rainfall across multiple areas, including the Kathmandu Valley, from Sept 26 to 28. According to data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), 250 people lost their lives over those three days. Additionally, 18 people went missing, at least 178 were injured, and about 6,000 private homes were damaged, as reported by NDRRMA.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has warned that rice production will decrease due to heavy rains at the harvesting stage.

Three years ago, unseasonal floods caused paddy losses worth over Rs 8bn, according to ministry statistics.

The Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee reported that flooding in the Melamchi and Indrawati Rivers in Sindhupalchowk, less than a week after the monsoon onset three years ago, caused significant damage to the project. As a result, preparations are being made to relocate the Melamchi project’s ‘Herdbox’ to a safer site.

After a nearly three-decade wait, Kathmandu residents’ hopes of accessing Melamchi drinking water were shattered by the flood. The project now operates only in the winter, closing each rainy season due to flood risks.

This year alone, 495 people have died, 66 are missing, and 522 have been injured due to monsoon-related disasters, according to NDRRMA.

Such climate-change-related risks are becoming increasingly common.

The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has begun in Baku, Azerbaijan, and will run until Nov 22. Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel, leading the Nepali delegation, will address the global summit.

According to the President’s Secretariat, he will emphasize the urgent need for mountain and environmental protection in meetings with heads of state and senior officials from over 192 countries.

Sindhu Prasad Dhungana, Chief of the Climate Change Management Division under the Ministry of Forest and Environment, noted that examples of climate-induced disasters, including the Thame glacial outburst, will be presented at COP29.

“We will advocate for access to climate finance to address loss and damage from climate impacts,” he said. Other key issues include international climate finance access, capacity building, and technology support for Nepal’s second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and National Adaptation Plan (NAP).

The economic toll from climate-related events has increased significantly. “We face disastrous events from glacial melt, snow, and landslides,” Dhungana noted. “We will request adequate funding from nations responsible for major emissions.”

Kamal Raj Joshi, Director General of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, warned that 47 major glacial lakes in Nepal are at risk of outburst, which could result in significant human and economic losses. “Twenty-five of the most vulnerable glacial lakes are in China, 21 are in Nepal, and one is in India,” he said, stressing the need for greater investment to reduce these risks.

Climate expert Manjeet Dhakal stated that showcasing these climate risks at COP29 would support Nepal’s case for international assistance.

New research by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) indicates that climate change could reduce GDP in developing Asia and the Pacific by 17 percent by 2070. According to a study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Hindu Kush Himalayan region is experiencing glacier melt at a rate three times the global average, with glacier melting increasing by 65 percent between 2011 and 2020.

Developing countries like Nepal are preparing to pressure the global community to mitigate climate change impacts in mountainous regions. The Nepali delegation at COP29 is focusing on six priority areas to combat climate risks and advance national interests.

The Ministry of Forest and Environment has prepared six thematic papers on climate finance, loss and damage, carbon trading, emissions measurement, mountain issues, technology, capacity building, climate adaptation, and inclusion.

Joint-Secretary Buddhi Poudel stated, “We have prepared Nepal’s national position paper, covering topics such as climate adaptation, climate finance, agriculture and food systems, health and climate, energy transition, water and climate action, and nature for climate.”

There is a push for effective implementation of the Climate Loss and Damage Fund established at COP28 in Dubai, UAE, last year.