Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reached out to the victims of the disastrous earthquake in Nepal and said India would make all possible efforts to help the Nepalese and wipe their tears in this hour of crisis.
He said India's efforts gelled with its age-old ethos of `Seva Parmo Dharma' (service is our principle duty), manifested in India's intervention in various crises across the world including the recent one in Yemen.
“I can feel what Nepal and its people must be going through since I have seen closely the devastation caused by the earthquake in Kutch (Gujarat) on January 26, 2001,” Modi said in his monthly `Mann Ki Baat' radio programme on AIR. “My dear brothers and sisters of Nepal, India is with you in this hour of grief. For 1.25 billion Indians, Nepal is their own country and India will make all efforts to wipe the tears of every person in Nepal, hold their hands and stand with them,” he said.
Modi said a number of rescue teams along with sniffer dogs were sent to Nepal to save as many lives as they could after the earthquake caused widespread damage. Observing that help had already started and teams of experts had been sent, he said the priority was to rescue those who might still be alive under the debris, adding that relief and rehabilitation work after the rescue operations will go on for a long time.
India Inc has pledged support in relief and rehabilitation work in Nepal. Chairman of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group Sanjiv Goenka is chairing a national task force to oversee industry mobilization and participation in the operations.
India comes to rescue in record time
India jumped to Nepal's rescue in record time, after the earthquake on Saturday flattened large parts of Kathmandu valley and Pokhara. Within the first few minutes, Prime Minister Modi reached out to Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav and PM Sushil Koirala. In an early tweet, PM said, “Spoke to PM Sushil Koirala, who is in transit in Bangkok on his way to Kathmandu. Assured all support & assistance during this tough time.”
Modi led from the front, monitoring and directing India's response directly. “As directed by the PM, we have mobilised all resources to support Nepal,” said defence minister Manohar Parrikar. He added all Army units spread across north India have also been asked to help in the rescue and relief operations in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other affected regions.
“We are offering full assistance to Nepal,” foreign secretary S Jaishankar said. The Indian government, he said, responded to a request from the Nepal government for rescue teams, medical teams and damage assessment teams.
India has dispatched 700 rescue personnel and 8,200 kg of relief material to Nepal. The IAF responded swiftly, dispatching 13 aircraft and two helicopters with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) personnel, medical teams, relief supplies and sniffer dogs to the landlocked country as part of “Operation Maitri.” Jaishankar said by Sunday, India would have five helicopters in Kathmandu and five in Pokhara for rescue and airlift operations as well as food distribution. India has also sent a team of senior officials from the ministries of home, defence, external affairs and NDMA to co-ordinate the rescue and relief operations.
Major-General J S Sandhu, from the Army headquarters, was also deputed to Nepal to oversee and coordinate the relief operations. “My primary task is to be the pointperson between the Indian armed forces and the Nepalese Army, check out what is required and how the resources and relief material being sent from India are deployed there,” he said.
The first C-130J Super Hercules, with 40 NDRF personnel and 3.5 tonnes of relief material, took off from Hindon airbase for Kathmandu. It was followed by two C-17 Globemaster and one IL-76 aircraft, with over 250 NDRF personnel, 43 tonnes of relief material, five sniffer dogs and a RAMT (rapid aeromedical team) with medical equipment and 24 doctors and paramedics. Two Mi-17s also left for Nepal from Gorakhpur, but had to return due to bad weather.
Jaishankar said India hopes to do a damage assessment of the area, following which New Delhi would dispatch more targeted rescue and rehabilitation assistance. The Army, too, was keeping two field hospitals and two engineer task-forces on standby for rushing to Nepal, with Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag in touch with his Nepalese counterpart to extend any help.
Jaishankar said, “As soon as the earthquake happened, our embassy got in touch with the government of Nepal and the ministry of external affairs was in touch with the embassy of Nepal.”
The government asked citizens to respond with details of family or friends who may be in Nepal. “We have set up a helpline in the ministry; the numbers have been put out. We would also request that if there are people who know that their relatives are in Nepal to send us their details,“ Jaishankar said.
Indian Airlines chip in with extra flights, sorties
Indian airlines, led by Air India, operated extra flights to Kathmandu for evacuating stranded Indian tourists. They will also carry relief material to Nepal free of cost and have waived all cancellation, date change or refund charges for Kathmandu flights up to a week. “AI and IndiGo have also come forward to do whatever is required for Nepal in terms of evacuating Indians and carrying relief material there,” said a senior aviation ministry official.
UAVs being sent to map destruction
With communication lines down and the sheer scale of the disaster in Nepal making things unmanageable, India is sending UAVs to Kathmandu to map the destruction and help rescue efforts.
Sources said the UAVs, under the operational command of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), will reach Kathmandu and begin operations immediately as time is running out.
"The sheer scale of disaster is so huge that Nepalese authorities, despite their best efforts, are overwhelmed and their infrastructure is under severe stress. We don't even know exactly where and what building has collapsed. Since communication lines are down, there is little information coming from the public either. UAVs will help us map the destruction in the city and channelize resources accordingly," said an NDRF officer.
