Nepal quake: More emphasis now on relief, says Cabinet Secretary

Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth on Wednesday said the rescue phase in quake hit Nepal is now winding down, with more emphasis being given to relief work.

"The rescue phase is now winding down, more emphasis is being given to relief work now. On the directions of the Prime Minister, India has made all out attempts to extend whatever help we can in terms of men and material, to be of assistance to the Nepalese government," Seth told ANI here.

"We are trying to make available all those materials and that facility which the Nepalese government feels is priority for them," he added.

The Cabinet Secretary added that the 16 NDRF teams stationed in Nepal have rescued around 1,500 people till now and pulled out 11 people alive from the debris.

"We have sent not only 16 teams of the NDRF, but also doctors, paramedics and teams from the hospitals and lot of other material like water bottles, RO purifiers, baby milk and milk powder, blankets, tents, tarpaulins, medicines, dry food packets," Seth said.

"Our 16 NDRF teams there have rescued around 1500 people; 11 people have been rescued alive from under debris. They have also pulled 1500 dead bodies, unfortunately," he added.

Seth also pointed out that 13 Indian helicopters are flying a large number of sorties in Pokhra and other far off areas to rescue stranded people.

The death toll due to the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Nepal has now climbed over 5,500. The figure may go up when the rescuers reach the remote areas.

Heavy rain affected the relief and rescue operations in places including Kathmandu. As a result, multi-national rescue teams found it difficult to locate survivors of the disaster.