Binod Chaudhary lauds India's swift Nepal flood relief as toll tops 1,000

Binod Chaudhary praised India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sending relief swiftly after Nepal's devastating flash floods. His appeal for greater support underscored the huge rebuilding challenge as deaths, missing persons and infrastructure losses mounted.Stock photo used for illustrationNepal's only billionaire and philanthropist Binod Chaudhary on Tuesday praised India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their swift response to the devastating flash floods in the country, saying the scale of the disaster was "far bigger" than anyone had contemplated. He also described the rebuilding task as "gigantic", with villages, markets, schools and bridges washed away and more than 500 megawatts of power generation capacity going out of operation.The death toll from the flash floods crossed 1,000 on Tuesday, while around 4,000 people, including 583 foreigners, remained missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. Around 12,000 people had been rescued, even as intermittent rainfall and a fresh flood alert made relief work more difficult."The scale of the disaster is far bigger than one would have ever contemplated. We had floods in the past in the same location even last year and that's nowhere close to what it is now," Chaudhary told PTI Videos. "We've lost about a thousand people. About 4,000 people are missing... More than the last count that I've taken, we had lost some 40-odd bridges," he said, underlining the extent of the damage.He said the impact on infrastructure and power projects had been severe. "More than 500 megawatts of power stations had gone out of circulation, out of operation and many projects which were under construction, particularly the power projects, they all had to be halted, they're washed away, damaged. So it's really a very, very painful situation," Chaudhary said. Chaudhary praised the Nepal government, security agencies and friendly neighbours, especially India, for their response. "I must acknowledge that the government and the security agencies and also supported by our friendly neighbours, India in particular has done a great job in supporting, in coming forward with the relief material right away," he said.He also recalled India's response during the 2015 earthquake. "I think we have no doubt in my mind that India is equally concerned. And I've seen this on multiple occasions. Even during the 2015 earthquake, India was the first one, Prime Minister Modi was the first one to come up with the immediate rescue arrangement, support, infrastructure, logistics," he said. He added that India had "gained that prominence, gained that capacity" and the ability to respond on a large scale. "Given the scale at which India has been able to move, build the infrastructure. There has been a transformation in the quality of the infrastructure that India has been able to build over during the last 12 years. So the whole system is of a different level and caliber," Chaudhary said. Appealing for more support, he said, "I would hope and I would appeal to the Indian government, Prime Minister Modi and all those who matter to do everything possible. I think these are the moments when India can make a big difference." He said financial assistance from different countries, companies, foundations and business houses remained of utmost importance, but added that "money is one thing" and could not solve the problems overnight. "You can't get the markets [to] start to function again. You can't rebuild the homes to house these people who are homeless," he said.Chaudhary said the task ahead was immense and Nepal would have to rebuild better. "It is also an engineering issue. It is not only an issue which relates with one of those normal disasters, because the glacier meltdown because of global warming is really becoming a significant issue, which the whole world should be concerned about," he said, as the country continued rescue and relief efforts after one of its worst flood disasters.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 1, 2026 19:55 IST