India on Tuesday enlarged its relief and rescue operations in quake-hit Nepal beyond Kathmandu to the worst-affected epicenter areas and rushed Gorkha soldiers to remote places to assess the kind of assistance required.
The death toll in India following Saturday's powerful earthquake in Nepal, meanwhile, rose to 75 with Bihar accounting for maximum number of 58 casualties.
A “big” evacuation effort through the road route was also underway with another 4,000 people headed to India.
Altogether 20,000 Indian nationals have been evacuated and arrangements were being made to take them to their homes by trains from Raxaul in Bihar, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in Motihari.
A report from Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh said over a 1,000 stranded people arrived in the border town of Sunauli.
Defence Secretary R K Mathur said in all the Indian Air Force has ferried 2,865 passengers back home.
As rescue efforts after the killer quake entered the fourth day, Indian rescuers from NDRF and Air Force planes have begun reaching areas beyond KathmanduValley near Pokhara.
“We now have a better appreciation of the area after our helicopters have undertaken numerous sorties. We have conducted chopper operations to the affected areas outside Kathmandu on Tuesday. A AN-32 plane also landed at Pokhara on Tuesday,” Defence Secretary R K Mathur told reporters during an official briefing of operation ‘Maitri’ or friendship in New Delhi.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said a “big movement by roads” has been initiated and in the first phase approximately 4,000 Indians in 80 buses will be reaching India by tonight. The buses, after crossing the Indo-Nepal border, will terminate at Gorakhpur in UP.
“The bus route is probably the best route to come back home and we have made arrangements for the same along the border on the Indian side,” he said.
Jaishankar said it is expected that 100 more buses will go to Nepal from UP on Wednesday and after dropping relief material, they will carry passengers back.
“There has been progress in terms of relief going in,” the Foreign Secretary said.
Goyal said in India, 75 casualities and 450 injuries have been reported till now from the affected states.
"The maximum casualities of 58 have taken place in Bihar. No assistance has been sought by any other quake-affected state from the Centre till now. However, NDRF teams are working at these locations," he said.
Tapping its 38,000-strong force of Gorkha soldiers, the Indian Army has sent "quite a few of them" to various parts of Nepal to ascertain the requirements in remote places.
Army officers said the soldiers, some of whom have reached their destinations, are providing valuable inputs about the extent of damage and the specific relief needed.
“Quite a few Gorkha soldiers have been sent to Nepal, to physically go and ascertain what the requirements are,” Additional Director General of Military Operations Maj Gen Ranbir Singh said in New Delhi
