The government is urging Shah to use the UNGA platform to seek climate justice for Nepal, international support for post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction, and a stronger global response to protect the Himalayan ecosystem.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah is under pressure from within his government and the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP)  to lead Nepal’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York and seek international support following the country’s worst flood disaster.

The pressure comes as the death toll from Wednesday’s floods crossed 1,000, with nearly 4000 still missing.

The government is urging Shah to use the UNGA platform to seek climate justice for Nepal, international support for post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction, and a stronger global response to protect the Himalayan ecosystem.

“It is still not certain if the Prime Minister will go, but there is unanimity in the government that he should and lobby with the international community for climate justice and post-calamity rehabilitation and reconstruction,” a senior government official said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Shisir Khanal had earlier been assigned to lead Nepal’s delegation to the UNGA.

Meanwhile, the Nepal Army has continued its search and rescue operation for a sixth day, particularly inside tunnels at more than a dozen hydropower projects along the Trishuli River.

With no mortuary facilities available in areas along Trishuli River, where the Bhotekoshi merges with it, the government has resorted to temporarily burying unidentified bodies.

“Mortal remains of the dead, especially those not recognisable and decomposed due to prolonged exposure to water, have been temporarily buried,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The government has also brought in teams of experts from India, China and South Korea to assist with blasting operations to clear residual blockages.