With rumours swirling around about another strong quake hitting Kathmandu, people on Monday are set out to leave the capital in vehicles and on foot, reports said. The death toll in Saturday’s earthquake that hit Nepal climbed to 4, 000 and the number of injured was over 6, 500, Home Ministry said.
Local media said that thousands of people who had gathered at Kalanki through which most outbound vehicles usually pass, tried to take public transport, small cargo vehicles, and were willing to pay hefty fare. Those who could not board the buses, trucks and micro buses, left on foot.
Meanwhile, tourists, including, Indians, are believed to be trapped inside the rubble of inside Hotel Budget off Thamel, the tourist hub in the capital. The hotel, which is very close to Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, had about 20 guests, Inspector S. D. Kharka of Armed Police Force told The Hindu . “Some guests who were having lunch managed to escape when the quake hit on Saturday, but those in their rooms could not.” > More
Helplines
National disaster helpline number 1078 has been made operational. People can dial using STD code 011.
Modi donates to PM relief fund
Prime Minister Narendra Modi donated one month’s salary to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for assistance to those affected by the recent earthquake within the country, PMO said. Members of Lok Sabha also decided to donate one month’s salary for earthquake assistance. > More
Appeal for more help
Lila Mani Poudyal, the government’s chief secretary and the rescue coordinator, appealed for more help from the international community, saying Nepal was short of everything from paramedics to electricity. “We are appealing for tents, dry goods, blankets, mattresses, and 80 different medicines,” he told reporters. “We don’t have the necessary helicopters or the expertise to rescue the people trapped.”
Don’t pay heed to rumours on quake, appeals Govt.
“Many comments come on social media that earthquake is going to happen at this hour. We should adopt restraint and not spread rumours on social media. I also appeal to people not to pay attention to such rumours being spread on social media,” Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Members of the House praised the government’s role in relief and rescue operations in quake-hit Nepal. Here's what >they had to say .
India quake toll rises to 66
The death toll in India has climbed to 72 with Bihar reporting the highest casualties (56). The quake and aftershocks have also left 288 others injured, a senior Home Ministry official said on Monday. > More
Inter-ministerial team leaves for quake-hit Nepal
A team comprising senior officials from Ministries of Home, Defence, External Affairs and NDMA on Monday left for Nepal to coordinate rescue and relief operations in the quake-hit country.
Headed by Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry B.K. Prasad, the team will also monitor the evacuation of stranded Indians in Nepal. >More
1,935 Indians evacuated from Nepal
Stepping up its relief and rescue efforts, India has evacuated 1,935 stranded Indians from earthquake-hit Nepal, even as a fresh feeble tremor on Monday jolted the battered Himalayan nation. The Indian Air Force flew 12 sorties to bring back Indian nationals including many children. > More
34 aftershocks in two days
There were 34 aftershocks in the two days since the massive earthquake in Nepal occurred on Saturday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences informed on Sunday.
IMD’s Weather Forecasting Center has also predicted fairly widespread rain or thundershower activity over Nepal during the next 24 hours, an official release informed. The activity is most likely to become widespread on April 27 and 28 with possibility of isolated heavy thunderstorm activity, particularly over eastern part of Nepal. Similar weather is also predicted for Kathmandu. >More
China’s search and rescue team arrives
A 62-member team from China arrived in Kathmandu on a search-and-rescue mission following the massive earthquake on Saturday. Chinese rescue teams have also rushed to Tibet, where the death toll from the quake reached 17. The earthquake has trapped around 40 Chinese climbers at the Everest base camp. > More
Experts from AIIMS, Safdarjung hospital to head to Nepal
The Health Ministry will send a team of experts from AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital to Nepal to assess the situation arising due to morbidity and mortality in the wake of the devastating quake in the neighbouring country. > More
Rain stalls rescue work in Nepal
Toll in Nepal earthquake rises to more than 3,200
With no electricity, Kathmandu looked a ghost town with rain pounding the city..
