In Nepal, families of people missing in floods cannot obtain death certificates — Kathmandu Post
In Nepal, families of people who went missing during the floods on August 26 cannot obtain death certificates and therefore cannot apply for state aid, compensation, insurance payments, pension payments, or property registration. Local authorities in the affected areas have asked the federal government to remove the legal obstacles, Kathmandu Post reports.
Purna Gale, a resident of the village of Khalte in Rasuwa District, survived the floods, but his father, eldest son, daughter-in-law, younger brother, two granddaughters, and three sons-in-law remain missing. The bodies of his relatives have not been found. Gale also lost his home and all his property, leaving him without money to perform funeral rites.
A legal obstacle for families
Some families have already performed mourning rituals with symbolic bodies made of the sacred kusha grass, while others are only preparing to do so. At the same time, local authorities cannot officially register the deaths of missing people under the current legislation.
Article 40 of Nepal's Civil Code of 2017 provides that a person may be declared dead if they have continuously been considered missing or their whereabouts have been unknown for 12 years, in the absence of evidence that they are alive. The law also provides for shorter periods under certain circumstances. Due to the lack of official death registration, families face difficulties obtaining aid and compensation, registering property, receiving pension payments, and claiming insurance compensation.
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Request to the federal government
According to the latest available data, 1,397 bodies were found after the disaster, while the whereabouts of another 5,130 people have still not been established. Police collected 3,139 DNA samples: 1,286 from bodies and remains and 1,853 from relatives of missing people. A significant number of the recovered bodies have still not been identified or handed over to families.
On September 9, local authorities in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts sent a letter to Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs asking it to create a mechanism for the immediate registration of deaths. Representatives of the affected communities also raised the issue at a meeting with Prime Minister Balendra Shah, proposing that the government adopt a separate Cabinet decision or urgently amend the law.
Ananda Kafle, spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs, said that the ministry had received the request and was discussing legal issues related to declaring dead citizens who went missing during the floods. According to him, the government is expected to make a decision in the coming days.
