Son Missing in Flood, Kidney Patient Mother Left Without Treatment

Dragon Media Correspondent

Sunita Dagaura of Jonapur in Shuklaphanta Municipality–3, Kanchanpur, has been bedridden at home for the past four months after developing problems in both kidneys. While the family was already struggling to arrange money for her treatment, another tragedy struck when her 25-year-old eldest son, Abhishek Dagaura, went missing in the floods in Rasuwa, leaving the family without its main source of support.

Abhishek had been working at the Langtang Hydropower Project in Rasuwa. On Bhadra 10, he called his mother and assured her not to worry about treatment, saying he would make arrangements after returning home. He had planned to take her to New Delhi for treatment and look for work there. But while preparing to return home, he went missing after the floods in the Bhotekoshi and Rasuwa areas.

Sunita’s husband, Banduram Dagaura, had earlier mortgaged the family’s three katthas of land to take her to Bareilly, India, for treatment. Around Rs 150,000 was spent at the time. However, regular treatment has remained suspended since Asar because the family can no longer afford it. According to the family, each hospital visit costs at least 16,000 Indian rupees, while even meeting basic household expenses has now become difficult.

After his son disappeared, Banduram travelled as far as Kathmandu in search of him. But no information about Abhishek’s condition could be found. There has been no confirmation that he is alive, nor has his body been recovered. Eventually, Banduram returned home with a heavy heart after collecting Rs 15,000 in unpaid wages from his son’s contractor.

With the son who had been supporting the household and promising to take responsibility for his mother’s treatment now missing, the family’s condition has become increasingly desperate. Villagers raised Rs 65,000 in donations and provided some food grains, which are currently helping the family survive. Sunita’s untreated health condition, however, remains a constant source of fear and uncertainty.

Shuklaphanta Municipality–3 Ward Chair Narendra Prasad Dagaura said the family’s financial condition is extremely weak and that recommendation letters have been prepared to help arrange treatment and other assistance. The family hopes to continue Sunita’s treatment in Nepal if funds can be secured, but the required amount has yet to be raised.

Kanchanpur Constituency No. 2 lawmaker Deepak Raj Bohara has also raised the Dagaura family’s suffering in the House of Representatives, saying that 14 people from his constituency remain missing following the floods. He called for priority attention to the search for the missing and support for affected families.

Caught between severe poverty, serious illness and the anguish of a missing son, Sunita is now appealing to the government and well-wishers for help to save her life. For the family, the most urgent needs are the resumption of her medical treatment and reliable information about the fate of Abhishek.