Nepal takes charge of post-quake operations as death toll mounts to 7,557

Kathmandu: Thousands of military and police personnel were on Tuesday deployed as Nepal took over from foreign rescue teams to mount massive operations to rehabilitate displaced victims of the devastating temblor that has killed at least 7,557 people, including 41 Indians.

A day after the Nepalese government asked rescue teams from India and 33 other countries to leave the Himalayan nation, over 1,31,500 Nepali military and police personnel joined aid operations in different areas.

The government said the personnel are aided by more than 100 teams of foreign relief workers in the arduous task that lies before them after the powerful April 25 temblor.

Some 11 rescue teams comprising over 500 rescue workers, including India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, which had the largest presence in Nepal after the country faced its worst disaster in over 80 years, have left. Officials said the Nepalese army and police "would now be taking over from the foreign teams".

Four of India's 16 NDRF teams were today airlifted and brought to Chandigarh, a senior NDRF officer told PTI. Three other teams were on their way to Patna by road from Kathmandu. The remaining 9 teams will leave in a day or two, the officer said.

"The countries have been indicated that they may exit Nepal. Today is the eleventh day after the earthquake, so the possibility of finding a survivor is slim. "So far, 11 teams comprising over 500 people have left Nepal. Teams from Canada, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Turkey, Pakistan, USA, the Netherlands, Poland, India and Turkey have left Nepal," Jagdish Pokhrel, spokesperson for the Nepalese army said.

He, however, added that the exercise of foreign rescue teams leaving Nepal would be in a phased manner. "The teams will not leave at one go. For instance, some 158 NDRF personnel and 128 civilians have left the country, but the rest are still there. This has to be done in a planned manner.

The respective countries are working on it," he added. Around 4,500 foreign rescue workers had descended on Nepal, sifting through mounds of rubble and pulling out bodies and survivors amid dozens of aftershocks.

The death toll has continuously been on the rise, with at least 7,557 people confirmed dead, including 41 Indians, while the number of injured has reached 14,536.

The Nepalese government asked the 34 countries to remove their 'first response' teams as the focus now shifts to relief rather than rescue. The widespread destruction has affected around 8 million of Nepal's 28 million population and the rescuers' departure would test the country's capabilities of handling the crisis through the remaining relief work and rehabilitation.

As many as 1,91,058 houses and 10,744 government buildings have been damaged completely by the powerful temblor, more than twice the number of households wrecked in the 1934's deadly temblor that has been the country's worst disaster of all times.

Currently, only the rescue teams will leave Nepal and not those who have been providing relief. Air forces of many countries like India and the US are still providing relief material to the quake-affected areas. Similarly, medical teams of different countries are still rendering medical services in the interior regions.

Many countries have set up make-shift hospitals and have been asked to stay put for at least two weeks. Meanwhile, Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala today visited Barpak in Gorkha district, the epicentre of the deadly quake, 11 days after the 7.9-magnitude temblor jolted the country, to take stock of the situation.

During the visit, he pointed out the need for formation of a separate ministry to deal with the aftermath of any natural disasters in the future. Visiting Barpak and other quake-affected areas in the district, Koirala said the rehabilitation of the damaged houses and communities would begin soon after the relief distribution ends.

"Tents and foodstuffs are in much demand here and the government is coordinating with neighbouring countries to deal with the post-quake situation," Koirala said. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union (EU) have pledged $200 million and 16.6 million euros respectively for Nepal's post-quake rehabilitation and reconstruction works.

The ADB funds will be mobilised in new reconstruction projects to be undertaken by the Nepal government, according to Nepal's Finance ministry. The EU has approved 16.6 million euros in financial assistance to Nepal and the amount will be made available to the government by this week, the grouping said.

A joint meeting of the EU and UN mission to Nepal also decided on Monday to make available an additional 3 million euros in emergency aid, bringing the total of the European Commission's support to 22.6 million euros since the quake.