Over 2,500 Indians have so far been evacuated from quake-hit Nepal and free visas are being given to stranded foreigners who want to come to India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh informed the Lok Sabha in response to an impromptu debate. On a suggestion from Samajwadi Pary leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, supported by CPI (M) leader Mohd Salim, MPs decided to donate a month’s salary for the relief work.
Earlier, the Home Minister said the toll in India following the devastating earthquake had reached 72, with 56 deaths reported in Bihar, 12 in Uttar Pradesh, three in West Bengal and one in Rajasthan. Singh said 10 National Disaster Response Force teams are already in Kathmandu and six more are on their way. An engineering task force and 18 medical units have also been rushed.
“An unmanned aerial vehicle is also on the way,” he said, adding that an inter-ministerial team headed by a top Home Ministry official was being sent along with 250 high frequency wireless sets to coordinate rescue and relief work.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said that with more buses being deployed, the number of Indians being rescued will increase. “Our hope is that from tomorrow a greater share of people being moved out from Nepal will be by road.” There is as yet no clear indication on how many Indians are stranded, he added.
The Indian Air Force expects to deploy at least 12 aircraft to fly in relief and rescue material. Also, for the first time four IAF helicopters were moved Pokhara from Kathmandu.
A team from Power Grid Corporation has reached Nepal to help in restoring the power supply while a group from Indian Oil is assessing the fuel situation there, senior officials said.