Protests on Wednesday greeted Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala in relief camps as anger spilled over to the streets with people seizing food and water supplies, four days after a devastating quake claimed over 6,000 lives.
People vented their anger when the Prime Minister visited their camps to assess relief work and complained that they were not getting any aid. Koirala told them that he had come to see for himself the difficult situation Nepal is faced with and assured them that help would reach them at the earliest.
Thousands of desperate Nepalese, who have been staying in the open with no houses to return to and fearing more devastation from aftershocks, clashed with police and seized water-bottles and other essential supplies. Frayed tempers were also witnessed at the main bus station here where quake victims had gathered to get out of Kathmandu but the promised buses failed to arrive. Scuffles broke out between angry crowds and the riot police which arrived there to control the situation.
Over 6,000 bodies have so far been pulled out from under mounds of debris and rubble left by razed homes and buildings in Saturday’s 7.9-magnitude temblor, Deputy Prime Minister Bam Dev Gautam said.
quake aftermath
4-mth-old baby rescued alive from debris
Kathmandu: In a miracle, a four-month-old baby was pulled out alive by rescue workers from the rubble of a collapsed building in Bhaktapur town, at least 22 hours after the devastating temblor that struck Nepal.
Nepal at high risk of landslides in coming weeks
Washington: The threat of landslides and mudslides remains high in the earthquake-hit Nepal in the coming weeks, and the risk is likely to increase when the monsoon rains arrive this summer, scientists have warned.
Rescuers struggle to help in remote areas
Kathmandu: Rescuers raced against time to search for survivors still feared trapped under mountains of debris in quake-hit Nepal where over 5,000 people have been killed, even as heavy rains hampered global humanitarian efforts in remote areas of the battered country.
$415 mn needed for relief: UN
Kathmandu: The UN on Wednesday appealed to the international community for $415 million to provide quick relief to those affected by the Nepal earthquake in an effort to address a critical need for shelter, water, emergency health services and food security, over the next three months.