Many Nepalis swept away in floods are not officially dead, leaving families in legal limbo
Relatives of people missing after floods on the China-Nepal border cannot obtain death certificates, because Nepali law presumes a missing person dead only after 12 years. This blocks compensation and inheritance claims, and the government says it is seeking a solution.
Last month's floods on the China-Nepal border left more than 5,000 people missing, and the government has ended rescue operations. Many families now face not only grief but also a legal impasse.
Symbolic funerals
In Hindu tradition, when a body cannot be recovered, an effigy made of sacred kusha grass stands in for the dead so that relatives can perform last rites. At the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, Madan Lal Lawat honoured his lost relatives this way. Five of them are missing, including his brother Mangal, who according to survivors died while going door to door urging people to flee. Lawat survived because he was driving his bus outside his village, Betrawati.
A legal impasse
In Nepal, a missing person is presumed dead only after 12 years. Section 40 of the Civil Code allows some exceptions but has no provision for disasters. Without a death certificate, families cannot claim compensation: up to 25,000 rupees for funeral costs, about 200,000 rupees for the first dead relative and 100,000 rupees for each additional one. Constitutional law expert Bipin Adhikari says the law was meant for people who went abroad and were not heard from for years, and is now outdated.
Bidur Mayor Rajan Shrestha said "everything is on hold" and that access to funds could take up to 12 years. The prime minister's office acknowledged the law may cause difficulties in exceptional circumstances, and the home ministry said it is ready to amend it if required.
Scale of the losses
More than 1,400 bodies have been recovered, but identification is slow because Nepal has little experience of processing DNA on such a scale. The government counts 7,570 private buildings damaged or destroyed, home to nearly 33,000 people. It puts damage to personal belongings at £123 million, while total reconstruction could cost up to £3.6bn. Prime Minister Balen Shah told the UN General Assembly he wants grant-based international support rather than new loans.
Tisum Ghale, who lost his home in the 2015 earthquake, has now lost 19 relatives, including five sisters, and cares for eight of their children. He has received no compensation so far.
