Nepal earthquake: Flights operated in adverse conditions, people evacuated, says government

NEW DELHI: Braving adverse weather conditions in Nepal, India operated flights throughout last night and evacuated people, including relatives of Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agrawal, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed Rajya Sabha today.

She said Indian Embassy personnel in Kathmandu are working in "adverse circumstances" and urged members of the House not to "increase pressure" on them as she responded to allegation by Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav that the Mission was not helpful to nephews of Agrawal.

"The situation over there (in Nepal) needs to be understood. There is a long queue over there. 10,000-20,000 people are stranded. ...In adverse circumstances, our Embassy officials are working. Let us not increase their pressure," Swaraj said in the Upper House.

"We operated flights throughout night and we evacuated many people, including relatives of Naresh Agrawal," she said while noting that there problems on account of fresh tremors as well as rainfall.

To Agrawal's demand for a statement on India's rescue operation in Nepal, she said the rescue operation is still going on. "I will come out with statement later on."

The Minister that India had made arrangements for 13 flights yesterday, but flights could not take off from airport due to fresh tremors and rains.

"We had made arrangement for 13 flights yesterday. But they could take off from airport due to fresh tremors. All operations at airport were shut down. All ATC (Air Traffice Controller) personnel left the place. Our flights could not have landed without the help of ATC."

The problem got aggravated due to rains and relief work was adversely affected.

India has so far deployed 13 military aircraft, three civilian aircraft of Air India and Jet Airways, six Mi-17 helicopters, two Advanced Light Helicopters while two more Mi-17 choppers are kept in standby.

Nearly 1000 trained personnel from India are already in Nepal where the country has deployed over two dozen aircraft and helicopters as part of rescue and relief efforts, arguably the biggest undertaken in a foreign land struck by a natural disaster.