Kathmandu, Sept 14: Families of people missing in the Bhotekoshi floods are facing difficulties claiming relief, compensation, insurance and other benefits because the government has yet to establish a procedure for officially declaring them dead.
Many families have already performed funeral and mourning rituals using symbolic bodies made of kusha grass, but they cannot obtain death certificates because Nepal’s existing civil law generally requires a person to be missing for 12 years before they can be presumed dead.
Local governments in the flood affected areas have urged the federal government to provide an alternative and faster process, saying the legal uncertainty has added to the suffering of families who have lost contact with relatives.
According to Nepal Police data released on September 12, 4,089 people remain missing after the August 26 Bhotekoshi floods in Rasuwa and Nuwakot. The missing include 2,907 Nepali men and 572 women. The deaths of 1,386 people have been confirmed.
Families have approached municipalities, rural municipalities and ward offices, seeking help with death registration and claims for relief, property transfers, pensions and insurance.
All local governments and ward offices in Rasuwa have written to the Ministry of Home Affairs, requesting a simplified procedure for registering deaths of people who went missing after the floods. The request followed a joint meeting involving local representatives, the chief district officer, the District Disaster Management Committee, security officials and other stakeholders.
The officials have asked the government to create a fast track system for death registration to facilitate insurance claims and provide official confirmation of deaths.
Families have also sought financial assistance to perform funeral rituals according to their religious and cultural traditions.
Gosaikunda Rural Municipality Chairperson Kaisang Nurpu Tamang said families were struggling because they could not obtain death certificates.
“Families have complained that the complicated procedure has made it difficult to file insurance claims and officially confirm deaths,” Tamang said. “We have asked the Home Ministry, through the district disaster management committee, to make death registration easier if close relatives declare that the missing person has died.”
He said the ministry had yet to confirm any decision on the request. Without death certificates issued by ward offices, affected families face difficulties accessing relief, he added.
Vidur Municipality Deputy Mayor Prabha Bogati said the federal government must establish clear criteria for declaring missing flood victim’s dead.
Rasuwa Assistant Chief District Officer Dhruva Prasad Adhikari also said the government needed to take an immediate decision. “The victims need certificates for official claims and insurance. The delay is creating problems,” he said.
What does the law say?
Section 40 of the Civil Code, 2017 provides for a judicial declaration of death. In general, a person who has been continuously missing for 12 years, with no information available to those who would normally receive information about them, may be presumed dead unless evidence proves otherwise.
The law provides shorter periods in specific circumstances: five years for a person aged 80 or above, four years for a soldier deployed in a war zone after the war ends, and three years for a person travelling on an aircraft, ship or other vehicle involved in an accident.
The law also allows a court to declare a missing person dead after examining evidence when an interested person submits an application stating the circumstances, date, place and basis of the disappearance or death.
Local officials say the existing provisions do not adequately address mass disappearances caused by a major natural disaster such as the Bhotekoshi floods, leaving thousands of families caught between completed funeral rites and the absence of legal recognition of death.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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