Bharat Rakshak

Singha wrote:Mod note: shreeman pls quit the sarcastic posts like the c17 flying over tent camp.

There are other threads for it...

Singha wrote:lets not be hard on the brits. they have a old attachment for nepal and pvt contributions might accumulate later.

the prize belongs to Murika the king lion who has donated....1 MILLION DOLLARS!! (applause)

and none of its massive fleet of pressurized C17 or C5 are winging their way in with any form of doctors, medicines or camping supplies yet.

Two days after a deadly earthquake struck Nepal, the authorities are struggling to cope with competing demands for relief, as the confirmed death toll crossed 3,500 and was increasing by the hour.

The full scale of the disaster became apparent on Sunday when Nepal Army and Indian Air Force helicopters found village after village in remote Himalayan valleys completely flattened by the quake. Tens of thousands of people are without shelter and in urgent need of medical attention.

The main challenge remains getting rescue and relief out to remote and scattered villages, and evacuate the wounded. Although Indian and Nepali military helicopters made 100 sorties on Sunday, and brought 308 severely wounded to Kathmandu, there were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people living in spread out communities.

The logistical challenge was compounded because heavy-lift MI-17 helicopters could not land on steep mountainsides where the villages are located. So on Monday the MI-17s landed in the district capital, while smaller helicopters ferried the wounded from outlying settlements.

Besides Kathmandu, the death toll has been highest in Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, Lalitupur, Bhaktapur, Rasuwa and Sindhupalchok districts — all with more than 150 known fatalities. A multinational military cooperation is underway as India, China, Israel, Pakistan, Singapore, Britain, Sri Lanka and Bhutan have all contributed. Countries with Gurkha soldiers have brought them home for rescue and relief work.

Photographs taken by pilots of rescue helicopters showed villages precariously perched on steep mountainsides with very few of them left standing. Langtang Village is said to have been destroyed by a huge avalanche that fell off a glacier above the settlement. Many trekkers are stranded in Langtang, Budi Gandaki, Tatopani and other areas.

Meanwhile, Kathmandu airport is struggling to cope with the sheer volume of flights. Planes bringing in emergency relief are competing with regular flights for parking slots. The delays had a domino effect where some flights had to be diverted twice, while domestic flights resumed on Monday but with long delays because of congestion.

Reports from outlying areas of Gorkha, Dhading, Rasuwa and Sindhupalchok spoke of local people left to fend to themselves, sometimes digging out trapped relatives with their bare hands. In Sindhupalchok two people were rescued alive, and locals say digging equipment and specialised teams with sniffer dogs are immediately needed.

Chief Secretary Leela Mani Poudel told a press conference on Monday afternoon that the government was doing its best to cope with the crisis. He said what Nepal needed immediately were tents, specialised medical teams like orthopedics, and Collapse Structure Rescue and Search (CSRS) teams.

Nepal is "on a war footing" as it tries to help survivors following Saturday's earthquake, its prime minister says.

Sushil Koirala said the government was doing all it could but was overwhelmed.

The UN has estimated that eight million people have been affected - more than a quarter of the population. Foreign aid is arriving but being hampered by congestion at Kathmandu's sole airport.

Officials say the death toll from the 7.8-magnitude quake has now passed 5,000, but could reach 10,000.

"The government is doing all it can for rescue and relief on a war footing" in a "difficult hour" for Nepal, Mr Koirala told Reuters news agency.

He has also admitted that lack of equipment and expert personnel meant the "appeals for rescues coming in from everywhere" in many cases could not be met.

The BBC's Justin Rowlatt was on the first flight to Gorkha, near the quake's epicentre

More than 8,000 people are known to have been injured when the quake hit and in numerous powerful aftershocks which have sent people fleeing from their homes to camp on open ground.

Water, food and electricity are in short supply and there are fears of outbreaks of disease.

BBC man survives Mount Everest avalanches

'We heard the avalanches coming from all three mountains around us'

"Eight million people in 39 districts have been affected, of which over two million people live in the 11 severely affected districts," said the most recent report from the UN Office of the Resident Co-ordinator in Nepal.

Landslips and periodic bad weather in the remote mountainous region around the epicentre are adding to the challenge for rescue and relief teams.
The district of Gorkha, close to the epicentre, experienced almost total destruction
Meanwhile in Kathmandu, the search for survivors goes on

Rebecca McAteer, a US doctor who was one of the first to arrive in the district of Gorkha close to the epicentre, told Associated Press that 90% of houses there were "just flattened".

She said most residents were older men and women and children, as the younger men had left to find work elsewhere.

Many have also lost livestock and have little food.

But helicopters are now air-dropping tents, dry food and medicine - though they are yet to reach many isolated communities.

Where helicopters manage to land, they are mobbed by hungry and fearful villagers pleading to be airlifted out.

"The ground keeps shaking, even this morning it did," Sita Gurung told AFP news agency in the village of Lapu.

"Every time it feels like we will be swallowed, that we will die now. I want to get out of here!" she added, saying the villagers had "nothing left".

This camp had been set up on a playground and even now there are quite a few children playing. But it no longer resembles a safe place. There's rubbish everywhere, paper plates, wrappers and plastic glasses are strewn all over.

"It's getting quite bad," says one man who is here with his wife and four daughters. "We've been here for three days and we've been living on instant noodles. There's nothing else to eat."

His house is not badly damaged, but he is adamant that he will not go home despite the challenging conditions in the camp.

"We've heard all these rumours about more earthquakes and aftershocks. We will not leave this place, not for a while."

The Nepali government has pleaded for overseas aid - everything from blankets and helicopters to doctors and drivers.

Many countries have sent aid including India, China, the UK and US.

But there is a logjam at Kathmandu airport, with individuals trying to fly out of the country while flights of aid and rescue teams wait to land.

On Monday, four Indian air force planes had to return to Delhi international airport after encountering "congestion" at Kathmandu, tweeted a spokesman for India's defence ministry.

The death toll in Nepal’s earthquake could reach 10,000, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has said, as survivors’ despair turned to anger at the government’s slow response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country, with food, water and other essentials in desperately short supply.

“The government is doing all it can for rescue and relief on a war footing,” Koirala said in an interview with Reuters. “It is a challenge and a very difficult hour for Nepal.”

The death toll in Nepal alone rose to 5,057 on Tuesday, according to the country’s Emergency Operation Centre, which said more than 10,000 people have been injured. There are warnings the full extent of the tragedy will not be known until rescue teams have reached “flattened” villages in remote regions.

“The death toll could go up to 10,000 because information from remote villages hit by the earthquake is yet to come in,” Koirala said


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There was also the fear of disease. “Now there could be communicable illnesses, diarrhoea, flu and so forth. The earthquake will have broken all the sewers and pipes so the water supply will be contaminated,” said Dr Sameer Thapa, as he looked out over a car park and garden covered in tents sheltering patients at the Tribhuvan University teaching hospital

WASHINGTON -- In the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday, the U.S. has no plans to transport stranded U.S. citizens back home.

The State Department on Monday acknowledged the death of at least four U.S. citizens in an avalanche on Mount Everest, but a spokesman did not have an estimate of how many Americans remained in Nepal, or of how many U.S. nationals had been reported missing. While the Indian and Chinese governments have airlifted and bussed out thousands of their own citizens since the earthquake, the U.S. government is directing Americans in Nepal to use commercial flights to transport themselves back home.

“The airport remains open, and we understand that many U.S. citizens are departing on commercial flights,” State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told reporters on Monday. “We are assisting Americans there with flight arrangements. We've also been providing shuttle services to the airport given the very difficult conditions. I don't have anything to confirm about other sorts of transportation.”

Rathke added that the U.S. embassy in Nepal is open and providing shelter to both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens

So far, U.S. aid has been focused on assisting the Nepalese government in its disaster response and not on evacuating Americans. The Department of Defense has deployed two C-17 military transport aircraft, which are expected to arrive in Nepal Tuesday morning local time. ( how can they even evacuate when they had not arrived to assist yet)The two planes will carry a combined 120 passengers, including a USAID disaster assistance response team, two urban search and rescue teams from Fairfax County and Los Angeles County, and several journalists.

“We are here for you, don’t worry. We will take everybody with us,” Indian Air Force officers told the hundreds of Indians who gathered around the IL-76 that landed at 2:30pm on the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Sunday.
Related


With most flights out of Kathmandu delayed or cancelled, there were thousands of people occupying every inch of the airport. And this was why the IAF aircraft came as a sigh of relief for at least the Indians. However, the evacuation process was not as easy as those relieved faces.


“We are waiting for a list of people from the Indian Embassy here. Once we get the manifest, we will tally the names and evacuate people one by one,” said an officer.

“What is a manifest? What happens to us?” shouted back a woman in the crowd. “Please settle down, have refreshments first. There are paranthas and puris for you,” said officer S K Giri in a calm tone. “Why are you taking so much time to evacuate?” asked the visibly frustrated woman. Some people had been waiting at the airport since 5 am.
IAF aircraft IL-76MD ready for evacuation of Indian nationals. (Source: Abhimanyu Chakravorty) IAF aircraft IL-76MD ready for evacuation of Indian nationals. (Source: Express Photo by Abhimanyu Chakravorty)



Vijay Kalra, a Director with the National Disaster Management Authority of the Indian Government, said there were already 2000 names in the list. As people badgered him with questions regarding their status, he asked them not to worry. “Every one of you will be rescued,” he assured them.


Another officer was heard saying: “You guys are very less in number, so that shouldn’t be an issue. We will take only 1.5 hours to reach New Delhi. For now, please have paranthas and puri.”


Soon someone asked the people to line up, the elderly and women first. “We can only give them ‘our list’ once you guys stand in a proper line,” he said.


One person, overwhelmed by the situation, started weeping. Then the IAF officer talking to the people stepped in: “Sir, I understand your problem. Even I have family in Bihar and there has been an earthquake there too. I know how it feels l. I am one of you only.”

Eventually, around 8:30 pm, people started boarding the flight and an hour later the IL-76 had taken off for New Delhi with around 200 Indians.

Shreeman wrote:No. It is not true. The PM himself is donating a months salary.

Manu Pabbys of the world would like to see that money go to a "charity" rather than to charitable effort.

This --
1. http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/after-ne ... und-758583
2. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 077073.cms
3. http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/pm- ... 85987.html
4. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/m ... 147274.ece

and definitively,

5. http://pmindia.gov.in/en/pms-funds/

there is no limitation preventing use in nepal. this is the medicine to be rectally inserted into anyone who is spreading that rumor.

The acceptance of donations in PMNRF is subject to the following terms :--

1. Contributions from Government/budgetary support or from the balance sheets of PSUs are not accepted in PMNRF.

2. Conditional contributions, where the donor specifically mentions that the amount is meant for a particular purpose, are not accepted in the Fund.

3. PMNRF provides relief only to the citizens of India. Hence contributions wherein the donor mention that the amount is meant for the foreign citizens/calamities abroad, are not accepted in the Fund.

5020 075900471R World Vision Of India Tamil Nadu On Request 05/11/2014

chaanakya wrote:EarthquakeNepal-MoHA
‏@NEoCOfficial

Rescue Team from China has arrived....



5:10 AM - 26 Apr 2015



This is official twitter handle for Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal. Operational since 12:45 AM - 26 Apr 2015. However it has no mention of the fact that Indian team was already on ground 24 hrs earlier and six hours of earthquake hitting Nepal.

Rahul M wrote:

chaanakya wrote:EarthquakeNepal-MoHA
‏@NEoCOfficial

Rescue Team from China has arrived....



5:10 AM - 26 Apr 2015



This is official twitter handle for Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal. Operational since 12:45 AM - 26 Apr 2015. However it has no mention of the fact that Indian team was already on ground 24 hrs earlier and six hours of earthquake hitting Nepal.

he/she did mention that India and other country teams were on ground.
also followed half a dozen GOI ministers and bjp leaders in last 2 days.

kmkraoind wrote:After seeing some images, they will take you into a deep thought and do whatever, they will never leave your active memory and today I saw one such image from Nepal. Its really heart wrenching and welled up my eyes.

Sachin wrote:

kmkraoind wrote:After seeing some images, they will take you into a deep thought and do whatever, they will never leave your active memory and today I saw one such image from Nepal. Its really heart wrenching and welled up my eyes.

Is there any way I can contribute to the rescue funds? I tried PMs relief fund, but the site says the fund is for utilising in India only. What could be any other agency who is now focusing purely for helping Nepal in this crisis? #SoulVultures & #SoulHarvestors to be excused. If nothing is there, would contribute to the PM's relief fund.

New Delhi: Nepal on Tuesday thanked India for extending a "blank cheque" and taking initiative in launching relief operations in the aftermath of Saturday's killer earthquake, which was followed suit by other countries.

Ambassador-designate of Nepal Deep Kumar Upadhyay also expressed concerns on "congestion on Kathmandu airport" that was hampering taking aid to the victims.

Read: We are impressed with India's role in helping quake-hit Nepal: US ambassador

"India took the initiative in relief operations, which other countries followed. We are thankful to the government of India that it was kind enough to extend a 'blank cheque' after the shattering earthquake. It has done tremendous work to provide help," he told reporters here.

"The Indian government has also accepted our request for special trains to border areas so that our people who want to return to their homes can go there. The service will be increased as per demand," he added.

Read: Nepal quake toll could reach 10,000, government on ‘war footing’, says PM Sushil Koirala

Upadhyay said, "I know we are two (countries), but we are receiving support like we are one. There is no problem of coordination between us. The aid will have a positive impact on us. It's a matter of human emotions."

Expressing concern about the obstacles in the relief work going on in the Himalayan nation round the clock, he said one major issue was congestion at Kathmandu airport due to which flying down support materials and resuming passenger flights were getting affected.

Read: First person account of Nepal earthquake: 'I felt it could all be over in those few moments'

"The Kathmandu airport has a parking capacity of just seven to eight planes. At present 30 helicopters are already stationed there, including 20 from India and a few from the US. So there is congestion and we are unable to welcome rescue teams and relief material," Upadhyay said.

And in this regard, the most important requirement was that the aircraft come, off load relief material and return immediately, he said.

Read: Nepal earthquake: Around 50,000 pregnant women affected: UN

"This will help resume normal commercial passenger flights. It will help reduce panic and boost the morale of the people as they will understand that the situation was returning to normal," he added.

Upadhyay said providing food and shelter was a priority and the focus will shift toward them as "hopefully all kind of primary rescue work will be over by today".

chand.bhardwaj wrote:Vikas Swarup @MEAIndia posted a great graphic of the #OperationMaitri. How can I post it?

Here is link to tweet: https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/593070920194895872
another https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/593 ... 72/photo/1

Altogether 20,000 Indian nationals have been evacuated from quake-torn Nepal and arrangements were being made to take them to their homes by trains from Raxaul, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said today.

As many as 20,000 Indian nationals have reached Raxaul from various destinations of quake-torn Nepal since yesterday, he told reporters here.

Pradhan said that arrangements were being made for trains to send all the evacuees belonging to different states back home.