BHOPAL: Families of a Vidisha engineer and two workers from Raisen who have been untraceable since the devastating Nepal flash floods will undergo DNA sampling to assist authorities in identifying victims, officials said on Friday.
Nepal has started relying on DNA testing as part of the identification process following the disaster near the Nepal-Tibet border.
The family of Vidisha engineer Swati Bagrecha, 50, has received communication from the Canadian government regarding the DNA procedure. Bagrecha, who moved to Canada after marriage and was living in Toronto, had travelled to Nepal as part of a Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.
Her relatives are expected to meet Vidisha Superintendent of Police Rohit Kashwani to seek approval for the sampling. Once permission is obtained, health department officials will collect samples from her family and complete the required formalities.
Vidisha Civil Surgeon Dr Anup Verma said he had already discussed the procedure with Bagrecha’s brother, Dr Prashant Bagrecha. The SP also said the administration would facilitate collection of samples and proceed according to the prescribed rules after consulting the family.
Swati had departed on August 8 with a 77-member group for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. She was at the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26 for immigration formalities when the flash floods struck. Since then, her family has received no communication from her.
Her 14-year-old daughter Anushka had remained in Mumbai with her elder sister, the family said.
“Her mobile is still ringing, but she is not answering our calls. We are extremely worried about her safety,” Prashant had said earlier.
The family approached the Indian and Canadian embassies in Nepal for assistance in locating her. According to Prashant, location records from her phone showed activity near the Chinese border, but efforts to trace the device were complicated because the number was registered in Toronto.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had also contacted the family and taken up efforts through diplomatic and administrative channels to speed up the search.
The August 26 disaster, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border, caused extensive destruction, damaging roads and bridges and sweeping away houses, vehicles and other infrastructure, including hydropower facilities. Nepal’s flood-related death toll had risen to 1,282 by Friday.
In Raisen, DNA samples will also be collected from the families of Vishesh Rajput and Himanshu Shakya, two workers who went to Nepal for employment and have remained missing since the floods.
Raisen Civil Surgeon Dr Anil Od said Rajput’s family had approached the district administration for permission to undergo DNA testing. Following approval from the collector, health officials were directed to collect the samples and initiate the process.
Raisen Collector Arun Kumar Vishwakarma said samples from the parents of both Rajput and Shakya would be obtained.
Rajput, a resident of Manjus Kala village in Sultanpur tehsil, and Shakya, who lived in Mandideep, had travelled to Nepal through Andritz Hydro Pvt Ltd, a Mandideep-based company, to work on the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydroelectric Project.
Six employees of the company had gone to Nepal for the project. Four were contacted nearly 48 hours after the disaster, but Rajput and Shakya have remained untraceable, according to the district administration.
Rajput’s family said he had spoken to his grandmother by phone at around 8.30 am on August 26, shortly before contact was lost.
The families continue to hope that the two workers are safe, while district authorities remain in touch with the company for information on the search and identification efforts.