- Search teams are looking for Kedar Nath and Til Kumari Parajuli, an elderly couple who disappeared after jumping into the Sunkoshi River.
- Investigations suggest the couple jumped after Til Kumari became incapacitated by bone marrow cancer, reflecting the hardships of managing terminal illnesses.
- Search efforts remain ongoing but are complicated by swollen river levels caused by continuous monsoon rainfall in the region.
- The incident highlights urgent needs for better elderly care, mental health services, and palliative support for vulnerable citizens across Nepal.
Kathmandu, Nepal: As the swollen waters of the Sunkoshi River continue to flow through Dolalghat, search teams are still looking for an elderly couple believed to have disappeared after jumping into the river on Wednesday evening. Behind the ongoing search lies a heartbreaking story that has once again raised difficult questions about illness, ageing, dignity, and the support available to Nepal's most vulnerable citizens.
Kedar Nath Parajuli, 68, and his wife, Til Kumari Parajuli, 67, of Mandandeupur Municipality-7 in Kavrepalanchowk, were last seen near the Duleshwar Mahadev Temple in Bhumlu Rural Municipality-8 at around 6:30 p.m., according to the District Police Office, Kavrepalanchowk.
Police said preliminary investigations indicate that the couple may have jumped into the Sunkoshi River after Til Kumari became physically incapacitated due to bone marrow cancer. Authorities are continuing their investigation, and no final conclusion has been reached regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Soon after receiving the report, personnel from the Panchkhal Police Post reached the site and began search operations. The Armed Police Force later joined the effort. However, continuous monsoon rainfall has caused the Sunkoshi River to swell, complicating rescue efforts. As of Thursday, neither of the couple had been found.
For many, the tragedy extends far beyond the riverbanks.
It tells the story of two elderly people who had spent decades building a life together but, in their final chapter, may have found themselves overwhelmed by severe illness and physical suffering. Whether driven by pain, despair, financial hardship, or a combination of circumstances, the incident has prompted renewed public reflection on how Nepal cares for its ageing population and those living with life-threatening diseases.
Across Nepal, families caring for elderly relatives with chronic illnesses often struggle with mounting medical expenses, limited access to specialized treatment, inadequate palliative care, and the emotional burden of prolonged caregiving. For many senior citizens, particularly those outside major urban centres, healthcare remains difficult to access despite constitutional commitments guaranteeing citizens the right to health.
Mental health professionals have long warned that suicide is rarely the result of a single event. Instead, it often emerges from a complex interaction of physical illness, psychological distress, social isolation, economic hardship, and limited access to timely support. Although the exact reasons behind the Parajulis' disappearance remain under investigation, the incident has once again drawn attention to these broader challenges.
Nepal has witnessed growing concern over suicide in recent years. Public health experts have repeatedly urged authorities to strengthen mental health services, expand community-based counselling, improve support for patients with chronic illnesses, and provide greater protection for elderly citizens facing physical and emotional hardships.
The country's Constitution envisions Nepal as a socialism-oriented state committed to ensuring affordable healthcare, education, and social security for all citizens. Yet stories like this continue to raise difficult questions about whether those promises are reaching people at their most vulnerable moments.
For the Parajuli family, however, constitutional debates and policy discussions remain secondary. Their immediate reality is one of uncertainty and grief, waiting beside a river that has yet to reveal what became of two lives that appear to have reached the limits of hope.
As rescue teams continue searching the Sunkoshi, the tragedy serves as a sobering reminder that behind every suicide is not merely a statistic, but a human story—one that reflects personal suffering while also challenging society to ask whether more could have been done before despair became irreversible.
