Kathmandu, Sept. 2 -- Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah said on Wednesday that the government had no choice but to confront the devastation caused by the Bhotekoshi floods with "courage and resolve", as he briefed parliament on the disaster that has left communities in northern Nepal devastated.

Speaking in the House of Representatives, Shah said the floods were not merely a tragedy for the three worst-affected districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading, but a national calamity.

"This is not only the suffering of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading. It is a shared blow to the heart of the entire country," Shah said.

He said the government had accepted that national leaders must provide reassurance and strength during a crisis rather than be o...