Quake kills 36 in India, PM reviews situation

People gather in a street after rushing out of their offices in New Delhi yesterday.

IANS/New DelhiAt least 36 people were killed and more than 100 injured in India yesterday due to the massive earthquake that had its epicentre in Nepal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a high-level meeting on the situation and spoke with chief ministers of the affected states.Though Nepal was the worst affected with at least 1,000 dead, India was not spared, as 25 people were killed in Bihar, eight in Uttar Pradesh and three in West Bengal.Modi held a high-level meeting with senior ministers and officials and spoke with the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim and Madhya Pradesh.“The prime minister was briefed on the inputs regarding the extent of damage to life and property received so far from various places in India and Nepal,” said a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he has directed all army units to carry out rescue operations and extend full co-operation to local authorities.In order to deal with the situation in the affected states, five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have already been sent - one to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and one each to Darbhanga, Supaul, Motihari and Gopalganj in Bihar.Home Secretary L C Goyal said the impact of the earthquake was felt in many states in India, particularly in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal.He said the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) in the cabinet secretariat has already met and reviewed the situation through video-conferencing with the chief secretaries of the affected states.The NCMC will be meeting regularly to take stock of the situation and the relief measures. The central government was also in constant touch with the states and monitoring the situation very closely.“We have been in constant touch with all the affected states... rescue teams have been sent to the affected areas,” he said, adding that “at the moment rescue is the priority.”“The NCMC will again meet soon after this press conference to review the situation,” Goyal said.The home secretary said “all possible help” would be given to Nepal.Giving details of the quake, L S Rathore, director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said that after the earthquake, several aftershocks were felt in India too.“These were aftershocks measuring five and above on the Richter scale,” he said, adding that the highest intensity aftershock measured 6.6.India’s capital shook for nearly a minute. While no major damage was reported from across Delhi, the quake jolted people and forced them to rush out of their homes and offices looking for safe havens.Stuck in a massive traffic jam under a flyover in the capital, Upasana Chandra thought she was feeling unwell when she felt her car move even while the engine was off.But before she could think any further, a swarm of people started running on the road shouting “earthquake, earthquake”.“There has not been much damage (in Delhi). It is not the earthquake that kills, it’s the faulty design and badly made buildings that kill people,” IMD chief Rathore said.The government said it was reaching out to Indians stranded in Nepal.“There are a lot of Indians in Kathmandu and outside, who are in a difficult situation,” Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said.“In Kathmandu, there is no electricity, so we know that there are limitations. The embassy will try to be of help both to Indians as well as the Nepalese people there.”Asked whether he knew how many Indians could be stranded in Nepal, he said: “No, not yet. When Indians travel abroad, they don’t keep the Indian embassy informed, especially Nepal where people go frequently.”However, India’s ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae said around 250 Indians were being evacuated from Nepal.“We are sending around 250 Indians by one plane tonight,” Rae said by phone. Asked about Indian casualties, he said it was difficult to give exact figures as the phone lines were down and it was tough to contact the authorities.“I can confirm only two Indian deaths now - one in the embassy and one in a hospital,” Rae said, adding that embassy officials have been dispatched to hotels and hospitals. Tremors were also felt in many other states including Assam, Madhya Pradesh and even Tamil Nadu. Page 27200 from Karnataka stranded in NepalAt least 200 people from various parts of Karnataka are reported to be stranded in quake-hit Nepal, an official said yesterday. “Our control room got about 300 calls since afternoon from across the state asking for information about the grave situation in Nepal or giving us details of their near and dear ones to find out about their welfare or whereabouts,” Karnataka Disaster Management Authority (KDMA) director K K Pradeep said. The state government has sent Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pankaj Kumar Pande and Indian Police Service officer Umesh Kumar to Kathmandu to ensure the safe return of the people. “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed us to co-ordinate rescue and relief efforts along with the central government to help the stranded people from Karnataka in Nepal,” Pradeep said. Many of the people stranded in Nepal were pilgrims or tourists to the Himalayan nation.