KATHMANDU, Sept 2: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) parliamentary deputy leader Ganesh Parajuli has called for transparency in the DNA identification process following the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster.
Speaking at the House of Representatives meeting on Wednesday, he urged the government to preserve DNA test results, forensic records and digital records of people who died or remain unidentified in the disaster in accordance with international standards. He also called on the government to regularly inform the public about the process.
Parajuli said Nepal, despite contributing minimally to global climate change, has suffered significant losses from climate-related disasters and should strongly pursue climate justice and compensation through international mechanisms, including the Loss and Damage Fund.
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He said Nepal should scientifically study the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli disaster and systematically document its entire economic and non-economic losses. He called for Nepal to strongly assert its right to grant-based climate finance, technology transfer, adaptation finance and fair compensation for verified climate-related loss and damage at the Conference of the Parties (COP), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Loss and Damage Fund and other international forums.
Parajuli also urged the international community not to portray the entire country as unsafe, saying the impact of the disaster had been largely confined to the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river system.
He said most tourist destinations in Nepal remain safe and tourism activities are continuing.
Parajuli called on the government to conduct an independent scientific investigation, prepare a Bhotekoshi-Trishuli risk map, develop a rehabilitation plan for affected families, conduct climate resilience audits of all infrastructure, and establish permanent national capacity for Himalayan disaster response and tunnel rescue.
