Kathmandu, July 14 -- On Thursday, Amrit Mahato was in a tiny strip of land surrounded by Kamala River in Kalyanpur. Mahato, along with Santosh Sada, Reshama Devi Mahato and Anardevi Mahato from Hathamunda, Dhanusha, was there to harvest seasonal vegetables that they grow in that piece of land.

It was not that Mahato had not paid heed to the rising levels of water in the river when it rained. "But within a few minutes, the river started to swell, approaching the land where we were standing. We had nowhere to go."

They were rescued by security personnel on Saturday morning.

It's not the swollen river but the rain pattern which baffled Mahato, who has seen 75 monsoons.

"The light rain suddenly grew into a heavy downpour," said Mahato. "...