Nepal Police warns against ‘false’ claims over flood relief

Kathmandu: Nepal Police has warned the public against circulating “false and baseless” claims on social media alleging that security agencies took relief materials meant for flash flood victims but failed to distribute them.

The warning followed allegations by CPN (UML) Secretary Mahesh Basnet that relief supplies were being kept inside Army and police barracks and offices and that some food items had been allowed to rot, according to news portal ratopati.com.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, Nepal Police said its attention has been drawn to the circulation of “baseless, fabricated and misleading” information targeting security agencies through social media.

The police said personnel from the Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force have been working round the clock in search, rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations following the devastating floods in the Himalayan nation last month.

“Recent social media posts alleging that the Army and police took relief materials and did not distribute them, or that the materials were allowed to deteriorate, are false and baseless,” it said.

The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, sent the Bhotekoshi River raging downstream, washing away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects across northern and central Nepal.

The death toll surged to 1,365 on Wednesday, with over 5,326 people missing.

The floods caused significant loss of life and property in several districts, including Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading.

Security personnel have been engaged in rescuing stranded and affected people, searching for missing persons, providing medical assistance to the injured, managing recovered bodies and distributing relief materials, the statement said.

It said the circulation of unverified allegations during a disaster could adversely affect the morale of security personnel deployed in rescue and relief operations, create distrust among the public towards security agencies and hamper sensitive disaster-management efforts.

Nepal Police also clarified that it does not have any relief materials stored in its possession, The Himalayan Times newspaper reported.

It urged the public and all concerned not to disseminate rumours or unverified information that could create confusion or undermine the morale of security personnel working in affected areas.

Security personnel remain committed to protecting lives, conducting search and rescue operations and providing humanitarian assistance during disasters, the police said.

Basnet had alleged that victims at a shelter complained of lack of food while relief supplies were being kept by the Army and police. He claimed that vegetables and other food items had been left to rot and alleged that relief materials had been kept inside security installations under the “one-door system”.

He had also alleged that helicopters were prevented from carrying out rescue operations and criticised Prime Minister Balendra Shah, the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and volunteer organisation Hami Nepal over their response to the disaster.