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Quake toll in India goes up to 72, India ramps up relief in Nepal

Last Updated 27 April 2015, 13:04 IST

The death toll in India from Saturday's monster earthquake today shot up to 72 even as New Delhi ramped up relief and rescue efforts in Nepal to provide succour to the nation devastated by the temblor.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh informed the Lok Sabha that the toll in the country has climbed up to 72 with 56 deaths reported in Bihar, 12 in UP, three in West Bengal and one in Rajasthan.

Enumerating the mammoth task undertaken by India to mitigate the sufferings of the Nepalese people under 'Operation Maitri', Singh said 10 NDRF teams are already in that country and six more on their way. An engineering task force and 18 medical units have also been rushed. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has also been dispatched to assess the gigantic losses suffered by the landlocked nation.

Over 2500 Indians have been evacuated from quake-hit Nepal so far and free visas are being given to foreigners stranded there who want to come to India.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, comprising about 450 trained personnel, have fanned across areas like Seetapaila, Maharajganj, Maheshwari and Gangabhajat, about 10-15 kms from the Kathmandu valley.

The force, till now, has rescued 10 people and retrieved 46 bodies from under the rubble of buildings brought down by the quake on Saturday and a string of aftershocks thereafter.

NDRF Director General (DG) O P Singh, who is camping in the capital city of Kathmandu since yesterday, said a team of his men has also been deployed at the Tribhuvan international airport to assist Indian Embassy officials in the air evacuation of stranded Indians.

"Our main priority is to go for as many rescue operations as we can. Last night our operations got hit as there were incessant rains and aftershocks of the quake. But, today morning we have started full-fledged operations as the day is sunny and there are no rains," Singh said.

O P Singh said three NDRF teams each are working in Bhaktapur and Kathmandu and two in Lalitpur.

The Centre has airdashed a team of senior officials from ministries of Home, Defence, External Affairs and NDMA to coordinate with the Nepalese authorities the rescue and relief operations.

Headed by Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry B K Prasad, the team will also monitor the evacuation of stranded Indians in Nepal and send a report to New Delhi to help it further intensify its efforts to provide assistance to the Himalayan nation.

Calling it a "very big tragedy", Rajnath Singh said India stands by Nepal and those affected in India in this hour of crisis. He also thanked the governments of Bihar, UP and Uttarakhand for setting up relief camps at the border with Nepal and plying buses to evacuate people.

Experts have also been rushed to Nepal to restore the communication network thrown into disarray.

"We are also helping foreigners. We have decided to give free visas to those willing to come to India. Immigration facilities have been set up in this regard," he said.

Meanwhile, both Houses of Parliament condoled the loss of life in the earthquake, with the Lok Sabha accepting a proposal moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Vankaiah Naidu to donate one month's salary for carrying out relief and reconstruction work in Nepal.

Some Rajya Sabha members also suggested that they be allowed to use funds available to them under the MPLADS scheme to complement government's relief efforts in Nepal.

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(Published 27 April 2015, 13:04 IST)

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