Nepal faces post-destruction challenges; rescuers struggle to deliver aid

Rescuers raced against time to search for survivors still feared trapped under mountains of debris in quake-hit Nepal where over 5,000 people have been killed, even as heavy rains hampered global humanitarian efforts in remote areas of the battered country.

Quake relief efforts continued, but officials warned that they were hampered by problems of getting aid into the country and then delivering it to some of the remote communities in desperate need in the Himalayan nation.

Landslides in remote mountainous areas around the epicentre of the quake hampered rescue and relief teams.

A government spokesman said that helicopters had been dropping tents, dry food and medicine to remote villages but they were yet to reach many isolated communities.

When helicopters managed to land, they are often mobbed by villagers pleading for food and water, or to be evacuated.

Nepal has declared three days of mourning for the victims of Saturday’s earthquake.

The rescuers are yet to reach some of the worst-hit villages in Gorkha, Dhading, Sindhupalchok, Kavre and Nuwakot, among other districts.

Nepalese riot police battled to contain anger among survivors of an earthquake.

Scores of people displaced after the quake were compelled to stay under the open sky as their homes had either been wrecked or were feared to be on the verge of collapse.

Rescue teams from a number of countries, including India are helping in relief efforts.

Crawling pace of rescue efforts

Despite their efforts to reach affected areas, relief works have been held back by the lack of coordination among the authorities, and the problem has exacerbated due to bad weather and geographical hindrances.

The official death toll was put on 5,057 and the Prime Minister Sushil Koirala said it could reach 10,000. But the extent of the destruction and loss of life in the countryside remained largely unknown.

Over 8,000 people have been injured while the UN estimates that eight million people have been affected by the worst quake in Nepal in 80 years.

Nepal desperately needs tents, water and food supplies, Koirala told an all party meeting yesterday briefing the leaders on efforts to rush emergency supplies to those in need.

Till now, 15 Indians have died in the earthquake.

Two Indian doctors, whose bodies have been recovered from under the debris yesterday have been identified as Deepak Kumar Thomas and Ershad A S. The Indian Embassy here is making necessary arrangements to send their bodies back home.

While many villages across Nepal are still waiting for rescue and relief teams, life in the capital, Kathmandu, is slowly returning to normal. Municipal workers today began cleaning the streets.

Authorities in the country are now facing the daunting task of tackling post-quake challenges like spread of diseases and rehabilitation.

Rescue teams have still not reached some of the worst-affected areas of Lamjung, the site of the quake’s epicentre.

India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are also working at the world heritage sites in Kathmandu Valley.

Indian defence teams are also flying to far-flung areas such as Gorkha district where the epicentre of the quake was located.

Indian Ambassador Ranjit Rae yesterday met Koirala and briefed him on the relief and rescue assistance provided by India under ‘Operation Maitri’.

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