With there being no reports of casualties from the State, the emphasis of operations from here remains to get those stranded in Nepal back home.
Officials from the Karnataka Disaster Management Authority said all those reported to have travelled to the Himalayan Kingdom during the quake have been contacted and are said to be safe.
Apart from Pankaj Kumar Pandey and Umesh Kumar, the two officers deputed from the State to oversee rescue operations of Karnataka residents in Kathmandu, the State government has deputed three officers — including IAS officer Ramandeep Choudhary — to Gorakhpur and Varanasi on Monday.
“We are in touch with a group of 40 people, who are expected to reach Gorakhpur by bus late on Monday. We will set up a help-desk there to ensure their accommodation, food, and travel back to Bengaluru is taken care of,” said Mr. Choudhary, who reached the border crossing on Monday evening.
He said many of the travellers would have lost money or tickets in the mayhem, and the officers will coordinate with the railways to ensure a safe journey back home. In Delhi, Rangaswamy, Resident Commissioner at Karnataka Bhavan, who is coordinating between the Centre and the State for the rescue operations, said 14 flights were expected to arrive from Nepal late in the night. “We expect at least 100 people from the State to arrive in those flights,” he said.
