'They need help': Utah restaurateur from Nepal holding fundraiser to aid flood-ravaged nation

SOUTH JORDAN — Biplove Timilsina, a Utah restaurateur, has watched unfolding events in his native Nepal with concern.

Flooding last week has killed at least 1,200 people, with around 4,000 people still missing, and Timilsina and his wife, Navita Poudyal, also originally from Nepal, couldn't sit by and do nothing.

"It's a very poor country and they need help," Timilsina said.

As such, he's holding a fundraiser next Tuesday at Bawarchi Indian Cuisine, a South Jordan restaurant he and his wife own, with proceeds from sales that day plus any donations going to relief efforts in Nepal. The restaurant is located at 689 W. South Jordan Parkway and the funds will be donated to the Nepal Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund, managed by the Nepalese government.

Villages and cities "were just wiped out" by the flash flooding, he said, causing "billions and billions of dollars" worth of damage, aside from the deaths.

Timilsina, operator of numerous Utah restaurants, including Big Daddy's Pizza, has been in the United States since 1997 but still regularly visits Nepal. He estimates the Nepalese community in Utah numbers around 1,500 to 2,000.

"We were in Nepal, and I know how hard it is there," he said, remembering his experience in the country during a visit in 2015, when an earthquake struck that caused thousands of deaths.

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Based on typical sales, Timilsina said the fundraiser could generate around $10,000, including operating costs and profits, all of which will go to aid Nepal. The Nepalese government has limited funding and relies on aid from abroad in situations like this.

"Nepal is our homeland, and we cannot stand by while so many families are suffering," said Poudyal. A Nepalese band is to perform at the restaurant for the fundraiser.

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