Kathmandu, Oct. 27 -- Ram Kumar Bhandari and his seven-member family have returned, after two months, to the same house that was buried by mud and debris in the August 26 Bhotekoshi flood. Their safety there remains uncertain.

After the disaster, Bhandari rented a house in Pipaltar for about a month. But paying rent was a struggle, particularly while arranging care for his mother, who has a mental health condition. With no clear government plan for his family's rehabilitation, he decided to return to the damaged house in Devighat in Bidur Municipality-5, Nuwakot.

"We could not afford to rent an entire house. And my mother has a mental condition. It was difficult to keep her in somebody else's home, so we were forced to return to our own...