Nepal on Monday suspended all non-essential search and rescue operations 40 days after the Aug 26 Bhotekoshi-Trishuli floods, which left 1,455 people dead and 5,285 missing. It is now shifting focus to reconstruction and rehabilitation.Those still unaccounted for include 189 Indians and dozens of people of Indian origin holding foreign passports.The decision was taken at a meeting of National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, chaired by PM Balendra Shah. It followed recommendations from district disaster management committees, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) and teams that inspected flood-hit areas.The council recommended that the finance ministry approve Nepalese Rs 559 billion (Rs 35,000 crore) for 504 reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes submitted by ministries and agencies, with NDRRMA tasked with seeking additional funds for projects whose costs were yet to be assessed.Latest data from Nepal’s tourism department showed 606 foreign tourists from 36 countries missing. Indians formed the largest group at 189, followed by 65 Americans, 55 Malaysians, 54 Ukrainians, 37 Chinese, 33 each from Australia and Latvia, 32 British nationals and 30 Canadians. Another 188 Nepalese tourists were also missing.Separately compiled figures from Indian states showed 85 missing from Tamil Nadu, 37 from West Bengal, 30 from Gujarat, 25 from Telangana, 22 from UP, 13 each from Karnataka and Andhra, 12 from Bihar, over 10 from Maharashtra and four from Odisha.
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