NEW DELHI: As many as 25,107 people were evacuated by land route on Tuesday from earthquake- hit Nepal. And the maximum number of 22,500 people were evacuated through Raxaul outpost at Indo-Nepal border while 2,200 people crossed over into India from Sunauli check post in Uttar Pradesh. Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) ADG (Intelligence) Somesh Goyal told Express that 216 foreigners were also received by the SSB. Of these, 196 came via Sunauli, 12 through Raxaul and eight were brought in through Banbasa check-post in Uttarakhand.
“The foreign tourists were provided gratis Visa as approved by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. So far 238 vehicles, including 53 buses have been pressed into service to evacuate the affected people who want to come to India. Four medical teams of SSB already left for Pokhara in Nepal to provide assistance in rescue and relief operation,” Goyal said.
On Tuesday, 22 trucks carrying relief materials, ration and water were sent to Nepal. Around 463 persons were provided medical help by SSB teams deployed at 15 response centres along the Indo-Nepal border. Goyal said the number of evacuees is likely to go up as 109 additional buses have been sent to various parts of earthquake hit Himalayan nation by UP, Bihar and Uttarkhand government to evacuate the affected people. “We are helping people from other countries as well. A clear direction has been sent to all the teams involved in Ops Maitri to extend all possible help to Indian and foreigners affected by the disaster,” Goyal added.
Director General of NDRF, O P Singh, who is camping in Nepal to supervise the rescue operation, confirmed that his team had pulled out 11 people from the debris of the collapsed structures and recovered 69 dead bodies. Singh said the NDRF is coordinating with the Nepal Army and they have requested the NDRF to visit buildings that have collapsed due to earthquake and mount search and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, India has intensified the rescue and relief efforts by deploying 16 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams. MoS, PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also a renowned Diabetologist, on Tuesday arranged to send a consignment of free Insulin worth Rs 1 crore consisting of 75,000 vials for persons suffering from diabetes in Nepal. Nepal has a diabetic population of over seven lakh people and the Insulin consignment that is being sent consists of different forms of Insulin.
420 Foreigners Evacuated: MEA
New Delhi: India has so far evacuated over 420 nationals from at least 15 countries, including those from Western nations like Spain, the UK and Russia from quake-ravaged Nepal both by air and road.In the morning, Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) announced that 170 foreign nationals have been brought back, which included 71 from Spain alone. The rest of the foreign nationals incldued 33 from Poland, 20 from Czech Republic, 10 from the US, five from Frame, eight from Germany, two from Russia and three from Ukraine.