Rescue, relief ops continue in Nepal: As it happened on Thursday

With incessant rains and the hot sun adding to the miseries of quake victims in Nepal, India Thursday rushed 8,450 tents to its disaster-struck eastern neighbour.

• My gratitude to PM Netanyahu for his kind words on India's relief and rescue efforts in Nepal including help extended to Israeli nationals.

• I spoke to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who had called to extend condolences on the loss of lives due to the Earthquake, tweets Narendra Modi.

• India is with the people of Nepal in this hour of distress, says President Pranab Mukherjee to the new Ambassador of Nepal to India.

• A Nepali teen has been rescued from rubble five days after the earthquake.

• Indian, Nepali Armies rescue 84 Indians trapped in Lukla, Ziri, Manaslu and Tamakoshi.

• India has speed up its relief operation in Nepal. Indian Railways provide free tickets, special travel arrangements for the evacuees.

• The Indian Red Cross Society IIRCS) is augmenting its support to victims of the earthquake in Nepal. IRCS is sending in 800 family tents, 2000 tarpaulin sheets, 2000 woolen blankets and another large water purification unit (3000 litres per hour capacity) as the next batch of relief to the aid of victims.

• Home Minister Rajnath Singh meets Nepal's ambassador to India Shri Deepak Kr Upadhyay in New Delhi. Upadhyay apprised Singh of the situation in the Himalayan Kingdom. 

• India rushes 8,450 tents to its disaster-struck eastern neighbour.

• Over 10,000  stranded Indians evacuated from Kathmandu by bus to UP, Bihar and Uttarakhand, confirms embassy of India in Kathmandu.

• Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to visit Nepal tomorrow.

• Madhya Pradesh government decides to send 1500 tents for the earthquake victims of Nepal. 

• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar assures Nepal of India's continued support in the wake of the devastating earthquake and said that all requirements will be met as per their request.

• International aid is struggling to find its way to the needy in remote areas today due to bad weather and lack of coordination. Frustration mounts among people in quake-hit Nepal over the slow pace of relief efforts.

• Rescuers pull out survivor from rubble 5 days after Nepal earthquake. "A 15-year-old boy has been rescued from the rubble of a lodge called Hilton Guesthouse," says police spokesman Kamal Singh Bam. 
• The Indian embassy in Kathmandu reaffirms government's commitment to extend all necessary support to the people of Nepal. 
• A 39-member Indian Army team is currently at the Mount Everest base camp. The Army men have voluntarily remained there to assist people including stranded tourists. 

• Indian administration has deployed three Army Medical teams at Barpak village, the epicentre of earthquake in the Gorkha district of Nepal.
• 16 NDRF teams from India are working with the Nepalese agencies. 11 lives have been saved and 121 dead bodies retrieved.
• Indian Embassy helplines -  977 9851107021, 9851135141

  Indian helicopters have delivered 100 tonnes of relief material in various districts of Nepal including Gorkha, Dhading, Rasuwa, Nuwakot — Embassy of India KTM (@eoiktmnp) April 30, 2015

• So far the Indian government has sent 280 tonnes of relief materials to Nepal including food, water, medicine and blankets, confirms Indian embassy in Kathmandu.

  India has sent 2 field hospitals,18 Medical &8 Engineering teams,1RAMedical Team,excavator,heavy earth moving equipments #IndiaWithNepal — Embassy of India KTM (@eoiktmnp) April 30, 2015

• In a bid to help evacuees, Indian Railways is running three special trains and another one from Bihar's Raxaul district to Howrah.

52 extra coaches attached till date by IR for clearing evacuees , 3 spl trains run & 1 planned for HWH from RXL tonight.-MR @sureshpprabhu — Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) April 30, 2015

#NepalQuake NER clears more than 2560 evacuees; more than 1800 zero value tickets issued to the needy pic.twitter.com/yuzXU1LwrF — Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) April 30, 2015

• A plane carrying 120 British people who survived the Nepal earthquake has arrived in Britain. UK has also pledged 15 million pounds (about USD 23 million) to Nepal in aid.

• One of the quake survivor speaks to ANI, says if another earthquake hits Nepal then nothing will be left in the Himalayan country.
• Anger over poor governmental relief has ignited protests in quake-hit Nepal as the death toll from the horrific temblor reaches 6000, with thousands battling for life.
• Hundreds of Nepalese protested in the heart of Kathmandu on Wednesday demanding the resignation of Home Minister Bamdev Gautam.
• Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis says more than 1000 Maharashtrians have reached their home and 600 others are coming by bus. "Our medical teams are already working in Nepal and are conducting rescue and relief operations there with the help of central government," Fadnavis tells ANI.
• World Bank says it would help Nepal in assessing the damage and reconstruction work.
• "We are in close contact with the Nepalese authorities, who have specifically requested our support to help carry out an assessment of damage and reconstruction needs in urban areas affected by the quake," Kim says.
• World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, who is in Paris says, "We were shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the tragedy in Nepal, with its terrible human toll and material destruction.”
• In yet another noble initiative, the Indian government has launched a mobile number 9590666222, through which one can offer help for the quake victims in Nepal.
• A person can easily donate Rs 20 by giving a missed call on the above mentioned phone number. The amount will be deducted from his mobile account and will be directly transferred to Prime Minister's relief fund.
• Rescue operations have been severely affected due to incessant rains in Nepal since Wednesday night. 

• The worst affected areas Barpak and Gurkha have been completely cut off due to landslides. The rescue teams are unable to land their helicopters due to space unavailability. Reports say that the Indian Air Force is air-dropping food and medicines for the distressed farmers.
• UP government says nearly 7,000 people have been evacuated from the Himalayan country.

• The state government has made elaborate arrangements for those coming from Nepal and trucks carrying relief material have been dispatched to the quake-hit country.
• Going by officially confirmed deaths, this is the worst earthquake to rattle Nepal after a 1934 temblor left over 8,000 people dead. But Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has warned that the toll could touch 10,000.

• India was the first to send relief and rescue materials. But Indian officials say thousands of kgs of medicines, dry food items, tents and more are accumulating at the Tribhuvan International Airport.
• The government has stored relief materials at two dozen places here but quake victims complain these are not reaching them though they badly need food, drinking water, medicines and tents.