KUALA LUMPUR: United Sikhs Malaysia has revised plans for its humanitarian aid mission in Nepal after its first team was stranded for more than 15 hours by a landslide on an alternative route between Syapru Besi and Kathmandu.
Its vice-president Mandeep Singh said the landslide occurred on Tuesday just metres ahead of the vehicle carrying five Team A volunteers as they were returning to Kathmandu after completing an assessment in Syapru Besi, Rasuwa district, which was badly affected by the floods on Aug 26.
“We were fortunate that the landslide occurred just a few metres in front of our vehicle. Had we been slightly further ahead, the situation could have been much worse.
“During that time, we took shelter in a building that was still under construction, without water or electricity.
“It was only after being stranded for more than 15 hours that we were able to continue our journey to Kathmandu,” he said, Bernama reported.
The mission began after the five volunteers arrived in Kathmandu on Sept 5. They then travelled to Dhunche to set up an operations base before proceeding to Syapru Besi to assess the situation and the needs of those affected.
During the initial mission, Team A travelled about 95km along the Trishuli River Valley over 16 hours, navigating a narrow, muddy and badly damaged alternative route to identify urgent needs.
Mandeep said the assessment findings would guide Team B in distributing humanitarian aid, including tarpaulins, temporary tents, mosquito nets, basic food supplies, sanitary pads and other daily necessities.
He said the landslide had also disrupted the handover to Team B, which was originally scheduled to arrive in Nepal by yesterday at the latest.
Following the delay, the non-governmental organisation rescheduled the movements of both teams and expanded their assessment to additional affected areas before starting aid distribution.
Mandeep said Team A’s operational period had been extended, with two of its five members remaining in Nepal until Sept 20. The other three would return today as originally scheduled.
Meanwhile, 55 Malaysians were reportedly still uncontactable following the floods in Nepal, while 77 who had been confirmed safe in Tibet and Nepal had been brought to Kathmandu for processing before returning to Malaysia.
Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said the confirmed death toll had risen to 1,377, with 5,130 people still missing, according to an update released on Thursday.
