Days after
back-to-back earthquakes rattled the remote mountain areas of western Nepal, a
third shipment of 12 tonnes of relief material from India reached the country
on Thursday.
A 6.4-magnitude
earthquake jolted western Nepal’s Jajarkot and Rukum districts killing 153
people and injuring over 260 others, on November 3.
Three tremors of
over magnitude 4 hit Jajarkot injuring at least 16 people on November 7. The
quakes damaged around 8,000 buildings, both public and private.
The November 3
quake caused the worst human and infrastructure losses since the devastating
jolt of April 2015.
Soon after an
Indian Air Force plane carrying over the emergency aid landed in Nepal,
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted, “@IAF_MCC. Flight 3 carrying
another 12 tonnes of relief material lands in Nepal. India will always remain a
trusted and reliable partner.”
A banner with the
words ‘Nepal India Cooperation’ surrounding the flags of the two countries and
a label “Gift from people of India to People of Nepal” below it adorned the
area where the neatly packed aid material was kept after it was delivered by
the IAF plane.
This consignment
came three days after the second such aid of nine tonnes reached here on
November 6 for the quake-affected families in the northwest mountainous region
where people are facing a shortage of food, warm clothes and medicines as a
fresh tremor struck the region.
The second
consignment was transported to Nepalgunj by a special Indian Air Force C-130
and comprised essential medical and hygiene supplies, tents, sleeping bags and
blankets.
The first
consignment of more than 11 tonnes of relief materials was provided by India
which included tents, tarpaulin sheets, blankets, and sleeping bags along with
essential medicines and medical equipment on November 5.
As its immediate
neighbour with centuries of relations, India was the first country to dispatch
emergency relief materials to the earthquake-hit districts in Nepal.
“India’s support
to Nepal remains strong and steadfast in this difficult hour,” Jaishankar had
posted on X on November 6.
In 2015, a 7.8
magnitude quake damaged nearly 800,000 houses besides killing nearly 9,000
people, according to the Post Disaster Needs Assessment Report, 2015.
PTI
