Sympathising with quake-hit Nepal

Nepal has been struggling to rescue tens of thousands of people trapped in remote parts of the county following massive earthquake and aftershocks that flattened towns and buried Mount Everest's base camp under an avalanche. Besides, Nepal's only international airport was closed for large aircrafts carrying relief goods in view of potholes on its runway. Many aircrafts were diverted to Kolkata in West Bengal, India. Remote mountain villages remain cut off and rescue workers are yet to reach there. Food, fuel, medicine and water are in short supply to cope with the problems confronting the affected areas. According to latest report, death toll has surpassed 7,500 and still rising. The devastating earthquake has left the country's infrastructure in ruins.
According to Udav Prashad, a top official of Gurkha district of Nepal, there are reports of people without food and shelter. There are reports of villages where 70 per cent of the homesteads have been destroyed. Historically, Gurkha is known for bravery and valour shown by its inhabitants when troops of the British East India Company invaded Nepal. Troops of East India Company were humiliated at the hands of Gurkha fighters. Having seen the bravery of Gurkha fighters, the British signed a peace deal with them and offered them jobs in the British army at handsome salary. Some 200,000 Gurkha soldiers had fought with the British army in the first and second world wars and finally served the British army in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo and  Cyprus until these countries achieved independence from the British.
 According to aid group World Vision, some roads and trails were blocked by landslides. UN refugee agency is reported to have dispatched 4300 teams with materials for temporary housing in Nepal. Meanwhile, rain has hampered the rescue efforts, grounding helicopters and causing landslides.
Commitment of foreign aid is not negligible. The USA has pledged $ 10 millions in aid. Neighbouring China and India have dispatched rescue workers and supplies. Bangladesh, another neighbouring country, also offered to help Nepal. Prime Minister of Bangladesh instructed to send on an urgent basis 10,000 metric tons of rice and adequate quantity of drinking water to Nepal. International Red Cross has committed to dispatch $ 1.0 million while American Red Cross is planning to send $ 300,000 to help victims of earthquake in Nepal.
Seventy five teams with 4050 personnel from 34 countries are involved in rescue operation in 14 hard-hit districts of Nepal. Of them, India has dispatched the biggest contingent of 962 persons followed by China and Israel with contingents of 370 and 286 persons respectively. The United State has also sent disaster response team to Nepal. A representative of the Nepalese government has urged foreign rescue teams to leave Nepal while aid giving agencies may continue to stay.
The devastating earthquake that hit Nepal did not come as a surprise. Nepal in fact straddles the fault line between two tectonic plates and it experiences a major earthquake at an interval of 75 years. According to an expert in seismology, the last big tremor hit the country 81 years ago and there were forewarnings that another tremor was imminent.
Kathmandu somehow escaped the danger of the earthquake on April 25. An over-populated city with one million people, it was not prepared to face a natural disaster of such magnitude. Many centuries-old temples, royal palaces, and at least three UNESCO heritage sites, including Kathmandu's iconic 200 foot-high Dharahara watch tower, were destroyed by the earthquake.
Nepal is passing through a very critical period in its recent history. The earthquake has created a huge pressure on the resources of a country which is heavily dependent on income from tourism that has been severely affected by the recent disaster.
The writer is a retired diplomat
of Bangladesh.
amjad.21@gmail.com