Kathmandu, Oct. 9 -- At least 269 children affected by the Bhotekoshi floods in Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts have been left without one or both parents, according to a study by the National Child Rights Council.

The council assessed 584 children living in holding centres in Kathmandu, Nuwakot and Rasuwa. Of them, 269, or 46 percent, were found to have lost contact with one or both parents, leaving them without parental care.

The council's preliminary report found that 41 children had lost both parents. The number of children left without parents following the August 26 floods is not final, however.

Ram Bahadur Chand, the council's information officer, said the authorities were still documenting affected children and that the figure cou...