The devastating lamjung-epicentred earthquake in Nepal had its impact in India too with as many as 51 deaths, officially, reported from Northern and Eastern States till late on Saturday. Bihar was the worst hit with 38 deaths, though unconfirmed reports pegged the toll at 47, followed by ten in UP and three in West Bengal. Hundreds were injured across these States.
Immediately after the news broke, the Centre swung into action with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself leading from the front. In a matter of few hours, he had spoken to his Nepalese counterpart and the President besides the Chief Ministers of the quake-affected States of West Bengal, Bihar, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh; convened a high-level emergency meeting to review the situation: and ordered the prompt dispatch of relief and rescue materials to Bihar, UP and Nepal.
“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 tweeted after speaking to his Nepalese counterpart and President Ram Baran Yadav. PM also spoke to Indian ambassadors in Nepal and Bhutan. “Today’s earthquake has made us all very sad. Nepal’s pain is our pain,” PM said.
Ambassador-designate of Nepal in New Delhi, Deep Kumar Upadhyay said his country needs mobile medical assistant units, besides other help. Nepal has particularly sought medicines, tents and blankets for its people. "We have been in touch with PM Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Our President is in touch with them and they have offered to help us. I thank India on behalf of Nepal for assisting us," Upadhyay said.
The MEA has set up helplines to assist Indians trapped in Nepal. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted: "Indians in Nepal may please contact our mission in Kathmandu. Our mission will provide you all help. Indian Air Force (IAF) is evacuating 250 people from Kathmandu today. Please ask your relatives to get in touch with Indian Mission there."
Before sunset, four IAF aircrafts reached Kathmandu carrying medical teams and relief material along with ten teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Besides, ten helicopters have been positioned in Kathmandu and Pokhara for damage assessment, airlifting of injured, distribution of food and water packets and other relief material which will begin operations from Sunday.
In India, the earthquake hit the length and breadth of Bihar thrice between 11.41 am and 3.02 pm. Most of the deaths were reported from north Bihar which was already reeling under the impact of cyclonic catastrophe that claimed nearly 60 lives recently. Darbhanga, Sitamarhi and East Champaran, bordering Nepal reported seven deaths each while some casualties were reported from Vaishali, Sheohar, Madhubani, West Champaran, Araria, Gopalganj and lakhisarai as well as one south Bihar district of Rohtas.
UP's Gorakhpur, the nearest town on the Indo-Nepal border, recorded a quake of magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale while in Patna, Varanasi and Allahabad the magnitude was 6. As many as ten people were reported dead in UP, though unconfirmed reports said the toll has risen to 12. In Bengal, while three persons perished in Siliguri, Malda and Naxalbari, one person was washed away by surging waters at Diamond Harbour due to the quake.
Union Home Secretary lC Goyal said five teams of NDRF, comprising 45 personnel each, were dispatched to Bihar and UP for conducting rescue and relief operations. The Central Government's Crisis Management Committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth, is holding regular meetings to keep a watch on the situation.
Fourteen aftershocks spanned over two-and-a-half hours continued to rock the Indian side, and according to lS Rathore, Director-General of the Indian Meteorological Department, more aftershocks are expected. The PM has designated Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Pratap Rudy to co-ordinate the relief and rescue in Indian States, particularly in Bihar. Four NDRF teams have been sent to Bihar where places like Darbhanga, Supaul, Motihari and Gopalganj face serious crisis while one team has reached Gorakhpur in UP.
Communications and Information Technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has asked DoT Secretary Rakesh Garg to take stock of the damage to telecom network in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh due to the earthquake and initiate measures to restore the network. Defence Minister Manhoar Parrikar said all Defense resources were being mobilised for Nepal while the Indian Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh remained in touch with his counterpart in Nepal. Meanwhile, all Army units in affected states were told to carry out rescue operations.
With the Kathmandu airport closed, commercial flights were either cancelled or diverted to lucknow and other Indian cities. Private airlines are in readiness to support relief agencies with the transportation of emergency materials to Kathmandu from Delhi on their flights.