News / More

Nepal steps up aid in quake-hit areas as toll climbs

Tuesday, 05 May 2015 9:27 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 05 May 2015 9:28 AM ]

This photograph taken on May 4, 2015, shows a villager walking through destroyed houses in the village of Barpak in north central Nepal, nine days after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Himalayan nation on April 25. © AFP

Nepal has stepped up delivering relief aid to survivors of an earthquake that rocked the South Asian country and left a trail of destruction and a rising death toll.

The government said on Tuesday that the massive aid operation in the vast Himalayan country is currently underway by over 131,500 Nepalese military and police personnel who are backed by more than 100 teams of foreign relief workers.

Despite complaints of delays in the relief efforts, Nepal’s Home Ministry announced that the situation was being brought under control after the 7.8-magnitude quake of April 25.

"The situation in the country is gradually becoming normal because relief items have already reached crucial, hard hit areas," Home Ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal told AFP.

"Everybody is trying to return to their normal lives and all our government machinery is working to make sure that all relief is provided for as long as people want and need. We are trying our best," he added.

Nepalese villagers walks near their makeshifts tents at Laprak village in Gorkha district in Nepal on May 4, 2015. (AFP Photo)

Dhakal’s remarks came after the National Emergency Operation Center put the total number of deaths at 7,557 and said 14,536 others were injured in the strong earthquake - Nepal's deadliest in more than 80 years.

The devastating tremor also killed more than 100 people in India and China.

As rescue teams continue providing help for remote areas which were among the worst affected, the government has warned that the final toll is likely to be much higher.

Dhakal further noted that relief operations could continue for weeks, if not months.

"There are so many people who have been displaced and so many people who have lost their homes and barely living under thin sheets and tent structures," the spokesman said.

The Nepalese government has allocated 20 billion rupees (around $196 million) for the country’s reconstruction and rehabilitation. However, it is also looking for large-scale financial contribution by the international community.

The UN says the quake has affected more than a quarter of Nepal’s 28 million people.

SF/GHN/HMV

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

Nepal