Kathmandu: Nepal is reeling under disastrous natural calamities-- with floods, landslides and incessant rainfall continuing to create havoc across the country. In view of the drastic situation, India on Monday issued an advisory wherein it underscored the current situation and issued multiple helpline numbers. Television images showed police rescuers in knee-high rubber boots using picks and shovels to clear away mud and retrieve 16 bodies of passengers from two buses swept away by a massive landslide at a site on the key route into Kathmandu.
India issues travel advisory
According to media reports, several Indian tourists were also stranded in the flood-hit region. The Indian Embassy said it is "in touch with some of these groups and arranging for their safe return. The Embassy is also coordinating closely with Nepali authorities to facilitate the evacuation of Indian citizens who are stranded.” Issuing the helpline numbers, the Embassy urged Indian citizens in Nepal who require assistance to contact it on the following emergency numbers (with WhatsApp):
- +977-9851316807: [Emergency Helpline]
- +977-9851107021: [Attache (Consular)]
- +977-9749833292: [ASO (Consular)]
At least 192 people died and 32 were still missing in two days of incessant rains caused by a low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal and over areas in India bordering Nepal. The Nepalese Home Ministry said all security agencies have been deployed for relief efforts following the floods and landslides, and the Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force personnel have rescued around 4,500 disaster-affected individuals so far.
While those injured are receiving free treatment, food and other emergency relief materials have been provided to others affected by the floods. Hundreds of people are facing a shortage of food, safe drinking water and sanitation in Kathmandu following the natural disaster, according to eyewitnesses. Market prices have also soared as vegetables coming from India and other districts of the country have been temporarily halted due to obstruction in major highways due to landslides.
Numerous roads throughout the nation are severely damaged, and all routes leading to the capital city, Kathmandu, are still blocked, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.
Kathmandu's main river, the Bagmati, was flowing above danger levels after incessant rain lashed large swathes of eastern and central Nepal on Friday and Saturday, a report published by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) said. "A low-pressure system in the Bay of Bengal and the more northerly than usual position of the monsoon trough was the reason" behind the exceptionally intense rain, it said on Saturday.
The floods and landslides have thrown life out of gear in many parts of the country, with many highways and road stretches disrupted, hundreds of houses and bridges buried or swept away, and hundreds of families displaced. Thousands of passengers have been stranded in various places due to road disruption.
(With inputs from agencies)
