MP Hydropower worker missing after Nepal floods, family awaits word

For the family of Vishesh Singh Rajput, a hydropower company employee from Madhya Pradesh, the past few days have been filled with anxiety as they continue to wait for news about him after the devastating floods in Nepal.

Rajput, 26, was among six employees of a hydropower company based in Mandideep near Raisen who had travelled to Nepal to work on the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydroelectric Project in Rasuwa district.

Four of the six workers were traced after nearly 48 hours and are now in contact with their families. However, there is still no information about Rajput and another employee, 28-year-old Himanshu Shakya, Raisen Collector Arun Kumar Vishwakarma said on Sunday.

“The four workers who have been traced are in contact, but they too have no information about their two colleagues,” Vishwakarma said. 

Rajput's family said their last contact with him was on the morning of August 26. His brother Vicky Rajput said Vishesh spoke to their grandmother over the phone at around 8.30 am that day. There has been no communication with him since then.

After the family lost contact with him, they informed the local Sub-Divisional Magistrate and police. They also approached Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is from Madhya Pradesh, seeking help in locating the two missing workers. 

The Mandideep administration has assigned SDM Chandrashekhar Shrivastava to coordinate with the company and the families and collect information about the missing employees.

The district administration has also informed the Ministry of External Affairs about the case, the collector said.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the August 26 flash floods in Nepal crossed 700 on Sunday, while nearly 2,500 people were still reported missing.

The floods caused extensive destruction across several parts of central Nepal. The disaster is believed to have been triggered by the collapse or avalanche of ice and rock near the Nepal-Tibet border.

Floodwaters carried by the Bhotekoshi River swept through areas downstream, destroying homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and causing damage to hydropower projects.

The six workers from Madhya Pradesh were at the Upper Trishuli-1 project when the floods struck the region. Four have since been traced, but Rajput and Shakya remain unaccounted for.

The families are now waiting for further information from the authorities as efforts continue to establish the whereabouts of the two missing workers.  (with inputs from PTI)