Lok Sabha Question No. 412 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-07-22
Subject: Assistance to Earth Quake Hit Nepal
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: RAVINDRA VISHWANATH GAIKWAD, OM BIRLA, KOTHA PRABHAKAR REDDY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.412

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2015

ASSISTANCE TO EARTH QUAKE HIT NEPAL

†412. 		PROF. RAVINDRA VISHWANATH GAIKWAD:

SHRI OM BIRLA:

SHRI PRABHAKAR REDDY KOTHA:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)	whether the Government of India has extended any help to the earthquake-stricken Nepal, if so, the details thereof including the works undertaken under the assistance;

(b)	whether the Government has any plan to provide long term assistance to Nepal, if so, the details thereof;

(c)	whether various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) too had sent assistance to Nepal during the tragedy and if so, the details thereof;

(d)	whether any assessment has been made in this regard and if so, the details thereof; and

(e)	the details of the persons killed and injured and rehabilitation measures taken by the Government?

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#### 2 ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

[GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

(a)	Yes. Indian rescue and relief assistance reached Nepal within six hours of the 25 April 2015 earthquake. Indian military aircrafts, helicopters, commercial flights, cargo trucks and trains carried relief material and rescue teams to Nepal. Over 570 tonnes of relief material was air-lifted, over 14000 tonnes was sent by road in nearly 2000 trucks, and about 1200 tonnes was sent by rail. Sixteen Units of the National Disaster Response Force worked in coordination with Nepalese security agencies to help rescue victims and clear debris. Relief and rescue material supplied by India included food and water, medicines, medical aid teams, mobile field hospitals, blankets, tents, tarpaulins, engineering task forces and equipment, oxygen regenerator and cylinders, and other essential commodities and equipment. India extended support to the Nepal electricity authorities in restoring power in different parts of Nepal. In all, Indian teams rescued nearly 6500 persons, evacuated 3975 Indian nationals, provided medical aid to over 4700 persons, and cleared 6500 cubic meters of debris from World Heritage Sites in Nepal. Community kitchens (‘langars’) functioned for 10 days in different locations in Nepal, serving cooked meals and distributing dry rations to nearly 1 lakh people. Gratis visa on arrival was provided at Indian airports and land ports to about 1600 foreign nationals travelling out of Nepal through India. Indian Air Force deployed Mi17 and Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters for over a month to assist Nepal Army in their continuing operations, before being de-inducted on 4 June 2015.

(b)	India stands with Nepal in firm solidarity for the longer-term recovery and rehabilitation phase, and remains committed to extend our full support and assistance for the reconstruction efforts, in accordance with the requirements and priorities of the Government of Nepal. An International Donor Conference was held in Kathmandu on 25 June 2015, where the Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of India announced Government of India’s pledge of US$ 1 billion for reconstruction assistance to Nepal, one-fourth of which will be as grant. This will be in addition to India’s existing aid package to Nepal of US$ 1 billion over the next five years, bringing India’s total assistance to Nepal in the next five years to US$ 2 billion.

(c) 	Apart from the Central Government, several State governments, NGOs, business organizations like FICCI, ASSOCHAM, and CII etc. provided relief materials like food, water, medicines, tents, blankets, tarpaulins to Nepal, on a voluntary basis.  A separate window for accepting contributions towards Nepal earthquake relief was opened in the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

(d) & (e)	The Government of Nepal undertook a comprehensive Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) to assess the damage due to the earthquake. The PDNA report which was completed on 19 June 2015, states that there were over 8790 deaths, 22300 injuries, and over half a million houses were destroyed in Nepal in the earthquake. The life of nearly eight million people, which is almost one-third of the population of Nepal, was impacted, with 31 of the country’s 75 districts severely affected, out of which 14 were declared ‘crisis-hit’. The destruction was widespread covering residential and government buildings, heritage sites, schools and health posts, rural roads, bridges, water supply systems, agricultural land, trekking routes and sports facilities. The total reconstruction and rehabilitation costs have been estimated in the PDNA report as US$ 6.695 billion.

The Government of Nepal declared a state of emergency and sought international assistance. Several donor meetings were convened to seek international assistance for Search and Rescue (SAR) and immediate relief operations. The Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force carried out effective SAR operations, despite several limitations, with the assistance of the Indian National Disaster Response Force, Indian Air Force and Indian Army Medical Corps. Over time, 134 international SAR teams from 34 countries responded to Nepal’s request for assistance. Overall, Government of Nepal mobilized 22500 civil servants, 65059 Nepal Army personnel, 41776 Nepal Police staff, 24775 Armed Police Force personnel, and 4000 government and private health workers for the SAR efforts. Distribution of relief material around Nepal was coordinated from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport.

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