Locals and Nepalese in Jammu and Kashmir worry for kin

As reports came in of death of two people from Jammu and Kashmir in the Nepal earthquake on Sunday, dozens of locals and Nepalese working in the state said they are worried for their relatives in the Himalayan country.

Reports reaching here said a father and his son running a Punjabi dhaba in Kathmandu died on Saturday in the 7.9 magnitude earthquake. They were residents of Satwari in Jammu.

More than 1,500 Nepali nationals work in Jammu and all of them are worried about their families and homes in the mountainous country.

Durga Bahadur, working as a guard in a transport company, hails from Gorkha district in Nepal. He was able to establish phone contact with his family on Sunday morning.

"My sister-in-law has died in the earthquake and her body is still lying trapped under the debris. The house was completely destroyed. My brother, Sher Bahadur, has been injured," said Bahadur.

Raju Bahadur, another Nepali working as a helper in an oil company in Jammu, said: "My nephew was killed, but my brother has survived although our home in Balowa village has been destroyed."

Gopal Bahadur from Arga Khesi district in Nepal and working at an under-construction resort near Nagrota town in Jammu district said: "Our home has been destroyed, but all my family members are safe."

"They are living in open fields, away from the village. No relief has reached them so far," he added.

Besides Nepali nationals, there also are more than 2,000 Kashmiris working in Kathmandu, selling shawls and other Kashmiri handicraft.

In order to help locals know about the welfare of their relatives working in Nepal, the state police have set up a helpline.

"We are in touch with the officials of the external affairs ministry which is collecting information about the well-being of all Indians working in Nepal," a senior police officer told IANS in Srinagar.

"The problem is that the cell numbers of our relatives are not working because the entire communication network has been damaged by the earthquake in Kathmandu and elsewhere in Nepal," said Javaid Shah, a resident of Srinagar.

"Not getting to hear from our brother after such a natural disaster is a cause of serious concern for me."

Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed has expressed shock at the Nepal earthquake, in which more than 1,800 people have died so far.