Nepal’s ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party MP Vidushi Rana on Thursday expressed gratitude to India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sending aid whenever a disaster strikes the Himalayan nation. She said the focus of PM Balendra Shah-led government is to save maximum lives.
Nepal has been reeling under the impact of devastating flash floods along the country’s border with the Tibet region that killed at least 165 people and left a trail of destruction.
“I am really, really thankful to PM Modi because, as soon as this happened, he gave a condolence message to the families who are suffering and to the country. We’ve already received a lot of relief materials from India. Every time there is a disaster, we get help from India,” said Vidushi Rana.
“We are getting calls from the international community also for help, like ambulances and other things,” she added.
India on Thursday sent a second tranche of relief supplies in a military transport aircraft to flood-ravaged Nepal. New Delhi on Wednesday dispatched 10 tonnes of HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) materials to the neighbouring country.
“A second flight has just taken off, carrying 37.5 tonnes of HADR material, medicines & food packets for Nepal,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a post on X.
“India remains in close and continuous touch with the Nepalese authorities.We will continue to strongly support the ongoing relief efforts,” he said.
The first tranche of relief materials was sent hours after PM Modi spoke to his Nepalese counterpart Balendra Shah and assured him of all possible humanitarian assistance to deal with the situation.
“The people of India stand in solidarity with their sisters and brothers in Nepal at this difficult time,” PM Modi had said in a post on X after the conversation.
“India is ready to provide all possible humanitarian assistance to Nepal. Our teams are coordinating closely on rescue and relief efforts,” he said.
The relief supplies included emergency items such as temporary shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps, and medicines.
A statement from Nepal’s Prime Minister’s Office said hundreds of people, including 391 foreign nationals and 44 security personnel, had gone missing, The Kathmandu Post reported.
According to an update by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, on Indian nationals impacted by the floods in Nepal, “290 Indian nationals are not contactable,” while “63 workers of the Trishuli-I project, and 21 from Tamil Nadu,” all Indian nationals, have been rescued.
Vidushi Rana said: “Whatever happened is very, very unfortunate. I haven’t slept all night just thinking about people, about families who are missing their children, missing their loved ones, and just hoping for some good news to come, just to know that everything is okay.”
“After the earthquake in Nepal in 2015, I think this is one of the biggest devastations in the country. But the government is super proactive. The most important thing for us right now is to carry out rescue operations,” she added.
“The hospital beds have been kept free, even in Kathmandu. The less urgent surgeries which were scheduled for today or tomorrow have been postponed to a later date because we want hospital beds to be ready (for victims). The government is working very hard as we want to save as many lives as possible,” she said.
-IANS
