Balen Shah, 36, was sworn in in March on a promise to clean up national politics and address widespread grievances at the lack of opportunities for young people in Nepal, which relies on remittances sent home by migrant workers for around a quarter of its GDP.
In a statement on Facebook posted Wednesday, Shah said “sudden flooding in Rasuwa’s Bhote Koshi river” had caused “massive human and physical damage.”
“This unexpected thunder of natural disaster has pushed many of our brothers, sisters and young children in deep pain,” he said in the post.
At least 484 travellers, including 105 Indians, 93 Nepalis, three US citizens, and 12 British citizens, have been reported missing. Eight South Koreans working on a hydropower plant were also unaccounted for.
Sending his condolences to those affected, he added: “In this unbearable pain, the whole Nepal government and the entire countrymen are with you. Wishing a speedy recovery to all the citizens who are injured by the flood and undergoing treatment at the hospital.”
Shah will now likely have to work with Nepal’s giant southern neighbor India, as well as China, its neighbor to the north and which has also been badly hit by the floods.
That will require a deft touch. Shah has previously made headlines for his fiercely nationalist and provocative posture towards both countries.
During his time as Kathmandu mayor in 2023, Shah canceled a scheduled trip to China after Beijing released a new standard map that did not acknowledge Nepal’s updated 2020 political map, which included some disputed Himalayan territories.
Even before these floods, he has courted controversies and headlines.
Just 150 days ago, Balen Shah became the PM of Nepal, riding on a wave of Gen Z protests. But governance lapses, diplomatic missteps, mounting crises and his growing distance from Parliament and his own party had dimmed the shine of the youth leader.
A team of international scientists has theorized that the cause of the flooding may have been a large chunk of ice shearing off of a glacier. They believe a landslide occurred in tandem, and the resulting mix of ice, rock and mud swept down the mountainside, picking up waterlogged sediment along the way.
After assuming office on March 27 with promises of clean governance, rapid decision-making and a break from conventional politics, the government moved quickly to launch anti-corruption investigations, restructure state institutions and implement an ambitious 100-point governance agenda.
Its early months, however, were equally defined by controversy—from the arrests of senior political figures and sweeping administrative overhauls to parliamentary confrontations, diplomatic friction, press-freedom concerns and questions over investor confidence.
Together, these events produced a premiership that projected speed and disruption while provoking intense political and public debate.
 |
| Modi spoke to Balen Shah: India rushes aid |
No comments:
Post a Comment