India & Natural Disaster Management

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 29 Apr 2015 21:30

Soulmate of China , Pakistan is hoisting flag on quake ravaged Nepal.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 29 Apr 2015 21:48

Shreeman wrote:
pankajs wrote:PM fund can be used to fund NDRF that is doing relief in Nepal (Men and material). Why the doubt?
Not a doubt. But still looking for an official confirmation in print. As arshyam previously pointed out, the FAQ of the website says "for use ..... citizens of india". Does that exclude Nepal?

I think not. The BJP seems to think not. But there is no govt word on thnking or thinking not that can be handed to manu pabby on a plate.

I think pankajs-ji's explanation is good enough to rebut the likes of Manu Pubby. PMNRF funds are utilised one way or the other, and the details are online. Cannot be more transparent.

Here's from the horse's mouth:

http://pmindia.gov.in/en/pms-funds/
Look from Q. 24 onwards. Has disbursement details.

As an aside, I think it is time we set up a Médecins Sans Frontières equivalent that deploys along with NDRF. We cannot expect the Armed Forces to step up all the time, given they have other duties too. Plus it will help attract civilian volunteers during emergencies like someone (gakakkad-ji?) mentioned earlier - about a Doctor friend en route to Nepal but stuck at an airport somewhere. Clearly, there are people willing to help out, and the govt should channelize it.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 29 Apr 2015 22:08

Singha wrote:..
israel it seems is sending another c130j also http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.653634
since they are all about Qaum and numbers, they are taking special care to evac all surrogate mothers nearing term....had no idea there was such a industry going on.

Meanwhile, Time article sheds some light on this, as not many were aware of this industry before....(Israel evacuates surrogate babies but leave mothers behind

Per this article - Why Nepal - (Main reasons)

Israel (and most of the European countries) these kind of services is only for heterosexual married couples , and does not allow surrogacy services for gay couples, so they have to go somewhere else..

USA and Canada may have these services but it there it costs about $150,000 (vs $30,000 in Nepal - wonder how much is spent on Mother and how much is for the lawyers etc..)

India (where prices were lower than US but good medical care etc..) changed the law in 2013, and it excluded gay couples (or those who have been married for less than 2 years)..

Hence Nepal is their preferred choice.. since last year (2014)..

Even some of the Israel news papers are saying that this is not right...

From above link..

But while the Israeli government scrambled to evacuate the 26 Israeli newborns and their Israeli parents from Nepal, a further 100 women, some Nepalese, some Indian, are still carrying babies for Israelis. The Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said he would allow the most heavily pregnant to be flown to Israel to give birth and outgoing Interior Minister Gilad Erdan promised to remove immigration hurdles for the rest. “We have decided to hold off on all the procedures, even if it causes a problem with the Nepalese or Indian governments, so as to bring over the babies as soon as possible,” Israeli news sources quoted him as saying on Monday...

The ordeal of the infants and their surrogates has dominated the news coverage of the quake here, with some pundits criticizing the use of government funds to send a rescue mission, and others demanding that Israel reevaluate its own surrogacy laws in the wake of the crisis. An opinion piece in the Haaretz newspaper went one step further, accusing the Israeli public of showing selective empathy by focusing only on the newborn infants, and not the women who had carried them.

“How can it be that none of the human interest stories or compassion-filled posts mentioned these women, who came from a difficult socioeconomic background … to rent their wombs … who now, like the babies they’ve just had, are also stuck in the disaster zone?” writer Alon-Lee Green asked.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 29 Apr 2015 22:33

Thirteen pictures from India's Rescue operation in Nepal from time magazine...
http://time.com/3838989/nepal-earthquake-hospitals/

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 29 Apr 2015 22:49

Amber G. wrote:Thirteen pictures from India's Rescue operation in Nepal from time magazine...
http://time.com/3838989/nepal-earthquake-hospitals/

The first video on the page does not mention India, it only refers to 62 Chinese inductions (with a note: Nepal strategic buffer state between India and Nepal).

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 29 Apr 2015 22:52

Amber G. wrote:
Singha wrote:..
israel it seems is sending another c130j also http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.653634
since they are all about Qaum and numbers, they are taking special care to evac all surrogate mothers nearing term....had no idea there was such a industry going on.
Meanwhile, Time article sheds some light on this, as not many were aware of this industry before....(Israel evacuates surrogate babies but leave mothers behind

Per this article - Why Nepal - (Main reasons)

Israel (and most of the European countries) these kind of services is only for heterosexual married couples , and does not allow surrogacy services for gay couples, so they have to go somewhere else..

USA and Canada may have these services but it there it costs about $150,000 (vs $30,000 in Nepal - wonder how much is spent on Mother and how much is for the lawyers etc..)

India (where prices were lower than US but good medical care etc..) changed the law in 2013, and it excluded gay couples (or those who have been married for less than 2 years)..

Hence Nepal is their preferred choice.. since last year (2014)..

Even some of the Israel news papers are saying that this is not right...

From above link..

But while the Israeli government scrambled to evacuate the 26 Israeli newborns and their Israeli parents from Nepal, a further 100 women, ...

...a a difficult socioic background
… to rent their wombs …

Just amazing.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 01:58

Arsalan Pakistani ‏@ArsalanISF 2h2 hours ago

Pakistan Army soldiers busy in helping out the victims of Nepal Earthquake #Proud_To_Be_Pakistani

is nepal the new east pakistan?

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 02:16

One of these things is not right:

1. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 102753.cms

vs

2. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDxkUk5VEAEc6US.jpg

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 30 Apr 2015 02:26

Few comments and some personal (technical) thoughts from my perspective..

Time will tell, when we get more data, but from what I know, I think India's response (and some luck ) may have saved thousands of lives..Yes, I know situation is extremely bad, but, if you have asked any expert, before or just after the initial 7.9 quake, the expected toll with such an earthquake in Nepal conservatively put, would have been of the order of 100,000..

Here, just to give an example and some perspective, a 2012 report for the Katmandu Valley the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction says..

..Conservative estimates are that the next big earthquake could result in 100,000 dead, 200,000 injured and one to two million people displaced

Link: http://www.unisdr.org/archive/29755?

Many of experts, from India, who studied the valley extensively (with population density, quality of building etc..) give similar prediction...Some posted a few years ago (for example see below again 2010 or so).. some just a few weeks ago. Even USGS, the impact chart, posted at the time of first quake, shows how serious this quake is. (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... us20002926

(This paper “Urban Vulnerabilities in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: Visualizations of Human/Hazard Interactions,” by Keshav Bhattarai is interesting too: http://t.co/fm6rGBTBVp)

Some background -

I have been a little more interested in technical aspects of earthquakes for last few years, specially how technology can help avoid loss of life. I came to know about the Nepal quake from an alert , which went on my iPhone. I have a quake feed app -- which gets data real time data from from USGS and audibly alerts me for any quake > 6 any place in the world... (and smaller one near interested areas)..

Sites like http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ (from US) and http://www.imd.gov.in/section/seismo/dy ... elcome.htm (india) has wealth of technical data.

Kathmandu reason is fairly well-known. After all since 1200, we have records of such powerful earthquake happening very regularly at every 75 years of so, and the reason has been extremely worrisome for some (indicating that a devastating earthquake is inevitable in the long term)..

I think when we look at all the data, we will learn some more things, but one thing is for sure, everyone has to be thankful for India's, nothing short of amazing, rapid response.

I will post some practical tips later.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 02:35

Ankar wrote:
Shreeman wrote: This is a "popular picture". I cant imagine taking this picture, in these circumstances. It would have to have been a pure vulture to see this and say -- this will make a good picture.
Google Image search tells me this image is from during 2013 riots in Burma.

Doesnt stop it from being tweeted as "pleaje give onlee" pichhar.

And regardless of when it happened. These are cruel, undignified, and "look how poor!" shots designed to show the heathen-ness of the unwashed masses in the dark continents. In the west, dead boies would be covered, there would be somber faces and crosses before any pictures are taken. And protection of the children would mean vulnerable arent abused for "stock photo" business.

Check who is using this image to gain donations. Google probably searches for nepal donation tweets.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 02:40

Amber,

Continuously burning pyres and lack of oversight over casualties, accurate population census and even the need to keep the overall total "reasonable" for PR reasons will suppress the overall count. And even so, its going to be a really bad number. The accounting outside of KTM 10 mile radius may not be very scientific or accurate.

Its questionable anything will make a huge impact after the quake. But food and medicine is needed. And the support is huge psychologically.

Long term support will be key. This is an opportunity to rebuild a country from scratch, lets hope it turns out better than haiti.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 30 Apr 2015 02:48

chaanakya wrote:Soulmate of China , Pakistan is hoisting flag on quake ravaged Nepal.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDxfesrVIAAlOE3.jpg

image picture above
Has color of Paki flag changed with more turquoise hue than green?
http://www.geo.tv/1-geo-pakistan

Interesting also is the only information comes from the story is that according to the Inter Services Public Relations,

"Bhaktapur is the greatest quake-affected area in Kathmandu"

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 30 Apr 2015 04:04

What is the weather like in nEpALamu? What about affected areas? khATmanDu?

I see the rescued french women in tees.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 06:43

^^ Zero degrees and wet, to fifteen degrees and dry.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 30 Apr 2015 08:48

Meanwhile ...

"When we reached the airport to collect the food items from Pakistan, we found packets of ready-to-eat meals, including packets of 'beef masala'. There were other food items too," Dr Balwinder Singh told Mail Today.

Perplexed, the doctors chose to have food from a hotel instead. "We did not touch the Pakistani aid," Dr Singh said.

From: Pakistan serves beef to Nepal earthquake survivors

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 09:45

Amber G. wrote:Meanwhile ...
"When we reached the airport to collect the food items from Pakistan, we found packets of ready-to-eat meals, including packets of 'beef masala'. There were other food items too," Dr Balwinder Singh told Mail Today.

Perplexed, the doctors chose to have food from a hotel instead. "We did not touch the Pakistani aid," Dr Singh said.
From: Pakistan serves beef to Nepal earthquake survivors

Pakistanis hold back no beef from the nepalis. Its only with India that they have the real beef.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 10:03

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 10:13

Indian K-9s still don't make it:

the dogs are sad.

These numbers also dont include people flying, transporting, supporting, driving, already in the country, ex-army folks, the sikhs and so on.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 10:21

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 10:28

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Apr 2015 10:29

there is a viral video on the web claiming to be a hotel swimming pool cctv during the quake. huge waves get formed.
but its of a 7.1 in mexico a while back.

this one looks real
https://www.facebook.com/logical.indian ... =2&theater

two people in the tractor are KIA or injured.

--

even the helis were not able to land in many villages to evac injured and had to drop supplies and depart. nepal army is in these villages but one officer said they have no means to dig into collapsed home speedily and anyone alive will be dead or already dead soon.
so another takeaway apart from building airports in all districts is to have a cheap concrete helipad in all villages for emergencies. it will need almost zero upkeep but save lives later. this applies to india as well in the mountains. if a dhruv cannot get in, nothing else can.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 10:31

Soldiers have been transporting the supplies and ferrying the injured to the hospitals. #NepalQuake

Never once do they say whose soldiers. China?

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 10:39

: a UK dog.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 10:42

The first people C17 flight had seats, I think. Now its sitting on the ground for all. Even the seats on each site are not used.

edit: yup, looks like.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 11:02

Indians flee earthquake-devastated Nepal, leaving behind jobs and savings

Reuters, Gorakhpur| Updated: Apr 30, 2015 09:46 IST

Negative narrative being built. It mentions first that Indians flee Nepal then only it talks about Rescue efforts only to add that it mobilised its plane to airlift its citizens. What these buggers fail to stress the timing of response and huge amount of man and materials moved within hours of quake. Did they expect returning flights to come empty ? Did they expect women, children and aged or infirm, injured or sick Indian Citizens to remain in Nepal and add on to the burden of care and relief efforts rather than helping Nepali population who needed it more and for whom the materials were being sent.

Traveling for hours on packed buses and boulder-strewn roads, thousands of Indians living in Nepal have fled home after last week's devastating earthquake, most with little more than the clothes they were wearing.

Indians account for the largest segment of foreigners in Nepal, amounting to about 600,000 in a country of 28 million, according to some estimates. Officials, though, say the open 1,750 km (1,100 mile) border and a lack of visa requirements means it is impossible to pinpoint the number of Indians living or visiting there at any one time.

India was among the first countries to react to Saturday's killer earthquake in the neighbouring Himalayan nation, sending in search and rescue teams within hours in a powerful diplomatic gesture. But it has also mounted an airlift and mobilised planes and dozens of buses to bring its own citizens home - some tourists, but many more workers who had lived in Nepal for years

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 11:04

The aid groups and foreigners (and pakistan, and china, and so on) are pissed. They have the money flowing in a flood. But they cant really do shit with it. There arent people (a few hundred arent moving rocks, they stand around and "manage projects") to pretend to spend it.

Look for a lot of poop being flung next. Those pools arent going to build themselves in the back alley of various embassies.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 11:16

Nepal Earthquake: After death, it’s disease; epidemic fear in camps

In the early hours of Wednesday at Tundikhel, in the heart of Kathmandu, women form a circle and shout at the men to stay away. One of them is in the centre, defecating in the open.

Read: Nepal quake victims vent their anger during PM Koirala’s visit; toll tops 6,000

A terrible stench rises from the grounds, one of the 16 designated open camps after the weekend quakes sent fearful Kathmandu outdoors.

Related

Nepal Earthquake: Under rubble, man says he drank urine to survive
LIVE: Nepal earthquake death toll tops 5,500; 11,440 injured
Tears after shock: Fearful Kathmandu stays outdoors in the rain and cold

With day temperatures rising, temporary toilets in a mess and little or no water supply, conditions at the camps are deteriorating rapidly, prompting health warnings on disease outbreaks post-disaster.

Doctors in city hospitals have begun receiving complaints of diarrhoea and skin allergies. In Bhaktapur, east of Kathmandu, suspected cases of gastroenteritis have surfaced and doctors say an outbreak of water-borne diseases in such a situation is not unusual.

Read: Flood of help in Nepal, but it is barely trickling down

Making matters worse are the bodies trapped in the debris of toppled buildings. There is no clarity on how many could be there and this has set off alarm bells.

Read: IMA to send 13 doctors to Nepal

An official of the Ministry of Health and Population said the trapped bodies and dead cattle pose a serious health hazard and work has been stepped up to retrieve and dispose them.

Read: Nepal PM Koirala requests citizens to donate blood

But search teams say it is not easy getting to the bodies because they are probably deep inside, beneath layers of flattened buildings. India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) alone has pulled out 85 bodies so far.

A doctor at the Bir Hospital, the city’s largest, said inadequate sanitary conditions, contaminated water and lack of specialists in hospitals posed “imminent danger” to a population still counting its dead.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 11:19

"Several aircraft", if they added any more details then it would make others look bad. Missing field hospitals. No tonnage of food/medicine. Makes it look like Bakistan actually based the aircraft in Nepal.

http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.in ... 300415.pdf

edit:

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Apr 2015 11:31

IAF is stopping flights from today. the helicopter units will remain and fly in nepal ofcourse.
with road network being functional now, trucks and buses will deliver any further aid needed read the statement.
regular civilian flights will be there.

for the last few days IAF has used low pressure timings at night to fly in and sent a ATC lead there to help organize the chaos of inbounds.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 30 Apr 2015 11:36

Sitanshu Kar ‏@SpokespersonMoD 1h1 hour ago New Delhi, Delhi

#NepalEarthquake Army Engineers Task Forces at work.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 11:41

Sitanshu Kar @SpokespersonMoD · 14h 14 hours ago

#NepalEarthquake The French Rescue team on board IAF's MI-17 and on their way to Charikote today.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 11:41

Sitanshu Kar @SpokespersonMoD · 5m 5 minutes ago

#NepalEarthquake MoD permits UK and Singapore military planes to refuel in India for relief operations in Nepal.
0 retweets 0 favorites
New Delhi, Delhi

Sitanshu Kar @SpokespersonMoD · 11m 11 minutes ago

#NepalEarthquake "We'll give all assistance to Nepal as per their request, in consultation with MEA": @manoharparrikar @MEAIndia
0 retweets 0 favorites
New Delhi, Delhi
Sitanshu Kar @SpokespersonMoD · 54m 54 minutes ago

#NepalEarthquake Army and Air Force helicopters at Pokhara airfield wait for weather to clear up for the sorties.

1 retweet 0 favorites
New Delhi, Delhi
Sitanshu Kar @SpokespersonMoD · 1h 1 hour ago

#NepalEarthquake Landing on uneven ground by IAF's MI 17 V5 at Simpani, near Pokhara.

2 retweets 0 favorites
New Delhi, Delhi
Sitanshu Kar @SpokespersonMoD · 1h 1 hour ago

#NepalEarthquake Army Engineers Task Forces at work.

15 retweets 4 favorites
New Delhi, Delhi
Sitanshu Kar @SpokespersonMoD · 2h 2 hours ago

#NepalEarthquake Weather has 'packed up' in Kathmandu. Pic taken a short while ago.

39 retweets 14 favorites
New Delhi, Delhi
Sitanshu Kar @SpokespersonMoD · 3h 3 hours ago

#NepalEarthquake Some Landing! IAF's MI 17 V5 helicopter reaches Ilampokhari, near Pokhara with relief material.

Sitanshu Kar @SpokespersonMoD · 6h 6 hours ago

#NepalEarthquake Indian Army Medical Corps and Nepal Army personnel treat the injured on location.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 11:42

Nepal earthquake: UP govt sends 205 buses to evacuate 6,670 Indians, 30 foreigners

Around 6670 Indian citizens and 30 foreigners who were stranded in Nepal after Saturday’s earthquake have reached Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday over the past 24 hours using buses provided by the state government. While majority of them belong to UP and Bihar, others are from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.

The UP government had sent 205 buses to the earthquake affected areas in Nepal for safe evacuation of these people, who reached Gorakhpur via Sanauli border. Around 2500 others have entered the Indian territory by their own vehicles.

For the people reaching UP from Nepal, the Ministry of Railways have made arrangement to send them to their native places by trains free of cost.

UP Relief Commissioner Leena Johri told The Indian Express that special rail coupons are being issued at relief camps in Maharajganj and Gorakhpur for those who have been evacuated. By submitting these coupons at railway ticket counters, they get railway tickets free of cost for their respective destinations. “Around 1700 people belonging to Bihar have used this facility so far,” Johri said.

Around 2000 people belonging to different parts of UP in these camps have already left for their native places via local conveyance or trains.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 11:46

Vikas Swarup retweeted
Narendra Modi @narendramodi · 2h 2 hours ago

PM Sharif & I also discussed the unseasonal rains and its adverse impact on the crops.
282 retweets 420 favorites
Vikas Swarup retweeted
Narendra Modi @narendramodi · 2h 2 hours ago

PM Sharif appreciated this idea & told me that we should take up such an initiative.
257 retweets 382 favorites
Vikas Swarup retweeted
Narendra Modi @narendramodi · 2h 2 hours ago

SAARC Nations can come together & hold annual exercises of rescue teams, doctors etc on how we can minimise damage during natural disasters.
384 retweets 452 favorites
Vikas Swarup retweeted
Narendra Modi @narendramodi · 2h 2 hours ago

I suggested to PM Sharif that SAARC nations should conduct regular joint exercises on disaster relief & rescue.
383 retweets 448 favorites
Vikas Swarup retweeted
Narendra Modi @narendramodi · 2h 2 hours ago

PM Nawaz Sharif appreciated India's efforts in the rescue operations in Nepal. I thank him for his kind words.
377 retweets 470 favorites
Vikas Swarup retweeted
Narendra Modi @narendramodi · 2h 2 hours ago

Got a call from PM Nawaz Sharif. He expressed condolences on the loss of lives in various parts of India due to the Earthquake.
398 retweets 476 favorites

<----->
There is a case for SAARC relief and Rescue Centre under SAARC . It can be based in India and regional centres can be set up in member countries. It can provide joint efforts in such disaster quickly. If Pakistan joins well and good else with rest of the member countries it can be done immediately.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 11:58

Vikas Swarup @MEAIndia · 15h 15 hours ago

#O

perationMaitri Assistance to foreign nationals continues. 9 Israelis, 2 British, 1 French & 1 Russian were rescued outside Pokhara by IAF
View conversation
105 retweets 76 favorites
Vikas Swarup @MEAIndia · 15h 15 hours ago

#OperationMaitri Two C 130s w/ tents, blankets, food & water arrived in Ktm in the evening. Two more aircraft with food and tents in line.
View conversation
85 retweets 67 favorites
Vikas Swarup @MEAIndia · 15h 15 hours ago

#OperationMaitri Our medical teams have extended on ground health care at Barpak, the epicentre of the quake, providing relief to injured.
View conversation
68 retweets 39 favorites
Vikas Swarup @MEAIndia · 15h 15 hours ago

#OperationMaitri continues at full pace. 240 injured rescued & 42 tons of relief material air-dropped across Nepal.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 30 Apr 2015 12:02

The number of people leaving nepal has crossed 100,000s but not by airbridge. Does this top the iraq? one?

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 12:03

ADGPI - Indian Army ने 4 नई फ़ोटो जोड़ी.
49 mins ·

Operation Maitri (Rescue and Relief Work)‪#‎NepalEarthquake‬ ‪#‎OpMaitri‬ Two Field Hospitals are deployed at Lagenkhel and one is at Senamangal, which are providing medical support to the affected population. Two Medical Teams out of these are located at Barpak. A total of 584 people have been treated so far by these teams which are working round the clock.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 12:04

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 12:08

Operation Maitri (Rescue and Relief Work)
‪#‎NepalEarthquake‬ ‪#‎OpMaitri‬
An Engineer Task Force took off for Kathmandu along with 2 Skid Sheet Layer, One JCB, One Water Truck, One Light Vehicle, One Load carrier and satellite phones.
The Electric Grid Assessment Team established at Kathmandu restored electricity in some parts of Kathmandu.
One Indian Army medical team which moved to Barpak, Nepal is operational for medical assistance and a 45 bedded hospital at Lagankhel, Nepal has been established and functional.
अनुवाद देखें

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Apr 2015 12:12

Day after slamming India, Sharif calls up Modi for quake comfort

A day after accusing India of not doing enough to improve bilateral ties, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express condolence over the deaths in India due to the quake and appreciated India's rescue operations in Nepal.

In rare rebuke of a neighbour with which he promised to mend ties, Sharif said on Wednesday India had failed to respond to Pakistan's desire for good relations.

"Got a call from PM Nawaz Sharif. He expressed condolences on the loss of lives in various parts of India due to the earthquake," Modi said in a tweet after Sharif's phone call on Thursday.

Modi added that Sharif appreciated India's efforts in the rescue operations in Nepal.

"I thank him for his kind words," Modi said.