17 die as tremors rock several parts of India
Less than a month after a devastating earthquake hit Nepal, another earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, epicentred in the neighbouring country, shook Delhi, most of northern and eastern India, including Bihar and West Bengal, and even some places in the south. It left 17 persons dead, including 16 in Bihar, and injured 39 others while triggering panic.
Indian Meteorological Department director-general L.S. Rathore has said that the aftershocks could continue for weeks or even months.
The Centre activated the national helpline number 1078 and put the National Disaster Response Force and the Indian Air Force on full alert and on standby to respond to any emergency call from Nepal.
In contrast to India’s swift response to the April 25 Nepal quake, New Delhi has decided to wait for Kathmandu to seek its help through diplomatic channels. However, India has decided to give visa-onarrival, both at airports and land entry points, and establish a mission desk at its embassy in Kathmandu to coordinate aid and relief work.
Home minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Indian ambassador to Nepal Ranjeet Ray and took stock of the situation in Nepal.
Home minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Indian ambassador to Nepal Ranjeet Ray and took stock of the situation in the Himalayan nation.
“India is ready to provide help to Nepal,” Mr Singh said.
New Delhi’s decision not to “rush” immediate aid and assistance to Nepal comes against the backdrop of negative media publicity and controversies surrounding the April 25 earthquake and Nepal abruptly asking all foreign rescue teams, including India’s NDRF, to return home after 10 days.
It may be recalled that within hours of the April 25 quake, Indian rescue teams had landed in Kathmandu for rescue ops immediately.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation following the fresh earthquake. “The quake measured 7.1 on the Richter scale with its epicentre somewhere in Nepal,” an IMD official said. “The PM has directed all authorities to be on alert for rescue and relief operations, as required,” the PMO said.
Six NDRF teams each at its stations in Ghaziabad, Pune and Chennai have been put on standby to be sent to Nepal as required.
Nearly four teams of the engineering task force of the defence ministry learnt to be in Nepal may be asked to stay back even as medical teams are once again preparing to go as soon as the request comes from that country.
Within the country, Bihar once again bore the brunt of the temblor that occurred less than three weeks after the huge quake that devastated Nepal. Union home ministry data indicated that Patna accounted for the largest number of four deaths, followed by Darbhanga and Saran (two each), besides Siwan, Nawada, Samastipur, Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Madhepura, Motihari and Purnea recording one death each. Another death was reported from Uttar Pradesh. The April 25 earthquake had left 58 dead in Bihar.
Though tremors from the quake was felt in areas far apart as New Delhi and Chennai, there were no reports of any casualties or any major loss of property from these places.
The IMD has said Tuesday’s 7.3-magnitude earthquake in Nepal was followed by at least seven more tremors in a span of less than two hours.