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India is looking at the option of operating buses to Kathmandu to bring back Indians stranded there due to a devastating earthquake that hit the Himalayan state on Saturday morning.
Briefing newspersons on the efforts being made by the Indian Government, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said that the Government is looking at operating buses from two routes into Nepal.
``We hope to start buses from late this evening or tomorrow. The routes seem open although the road movement is slow. We are hopeful that through the road route we will be able to evacuate several people,” Jaishankar said. The Foreign Secretary said that there were several thousand people including Indians and nationals from other countries who needed to be evacuated from Nepal.
The buses will be pressed into service in addition to the military aircraft, helicopters and commercial flights that are being deployed to carry relief material and bring back stranded Indians and people from other countries.
Jaishankar said that 13 military aircraft will be going to Kathmandu on Sunday of which five had landed till 6 pm. In addition, Air India operated two flights and Jet Airways one to bring back stranded passengers.
On Sunday, flight operations were affected as there were fresh aftershocks which meant that the only international airport in Nepal at Kathmandu was not operational for a long time during the day.
India rushed relief material including 10 tonnes of blankets, 50 tonnes of water provided by the Indian Railways and 22 tonnes of food which had been donated by various states and voluntary agencies, Jaishankar added.
The 7.9 magnitude earthquake with its epi-centre 80 km from Kathmandu hit Nepal on Saturday around noon. At least 2,200 people are said to have died and over 5,000 injured in Nepal so far.
In addition, there have been reports of loss of life and damage to properties in neighbouring India also.
Briefing newspersons, Anil Goswami, Home Secretary said that at least 62 people had been killed in India as a result of the earthquake including 46 in Bihar, 13 in UP, 2 in West Bengal and 1 in Rajasthan.
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