Nepali families hold symbolic funerals for missing after floods

Nearly four thousand individuals remain missing after Nepal's devastating flash floods, prompting families to perform symbolic funeral ceremonies to free the souls of their loved ones. In Kathmandu, 12-year-old Rozel Shrestha burned a straw and barley effigy in Pashupati temple to represent his missing father, Krishna Shrestha, a 37-year-old resident of the worst-hit Rasuwa district.

Jeevan Shrestha, Rozel's brother, explained that they had searched everywhere, including morgues across the country, but could not locate his father's body. The family opted to conduct traditional rituals to liberate Krishna's soul, ensuring he found peace and happiness, wherever he might be.

Similarly, the Newar family held a symbolic funeral for their 35-year-old truck driver, Chandra Bahadur Newar, who was swept away by the disaster. Truck driver Newar was en route to China to China when the floods struck, last speaking to his family the night before. His wife, Dolma Newar Tamang, noticed he hadn't called as usual and feared the worst when she couldn't reach him.

Despite frantically searching hospitals and morgues, Tamang made peace with the possibility that her husband may never return. The family decided to perform the rituals, believing it would allow Chandra to find peace and happiness in his new existence.

In another case, Mahesh Dangol, a 30-year-old man rescued from the affected town of Betrawati, passed away from a lung infection in a Kathmandu hospital. Dangol's family delayed his cremation, hoping for news of his missing family members, including his wife and daughter. However, hospital authorities informed them that they were running out of space for unidentified bodies, and Dangol's family had no choice but to proceed with the symbolic funeral.

Only a few hundred of the over a thousand recovered bodies have been identified, leaving little hope for the recovery of any more missing individuals.