Tharoor urges Centre to deploy full NDRF contingent for Nepal flood rescue

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor urged the Centre to deploy a full NDRF contingent, heavy-lift helicopters and advanced search equipment in Nepal, where hundreds of Indians remain missing or stranded after devastating flash floods, stressing that rescue efforts must be intensified immediately

New Delhi: With several Indians still missing in the Nepal flash floods, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday asked the Modi government for a full NDRF contingent and heavy-lift helicopters for rescue operations. In his letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Tharoor urged the government to pull out all stops to rescue the stranded or those who may still be alive beneath the debris.

On Wednesday, an ice-rock avalanche following a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border sent a torrent of water, mud and debris downstream, wiping out towns and villages, damaging crucial infrastructure and washing away hydropower stations through central Nepal.

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“Every hour that passes narrows the ground on which hope can still stand,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said. “I am writing to you regarding the Indian nationals who remain missing following the flash floods that struck Nepal on 26 August. India’s response has been swift and substantial. The Prime Minister’s early outreach to Kathmandu, the four tranches of relief material, the eleven-member team of doctors, paramedics and tunnel rescue experts, and the control room and Embassy helplines have all made a difference,” Tharoor said.

India’s Ambassador to Nepal Naveem Srivastava and his team have worked round-the-clock, he noted. “The return of the group from Tibet, whom you personally received at the airport, gave many families their first moment of hope in three days. The rescue of the Indian workers at Trishuli- 1 was a genuine triumph,” he said.

“Families have noticed all of this. Several have asked me to convey their gratitude to you personally, and I am glad to do so. “It is precisely because of this that I feel compelled to urge that our efforts now be matched to the scale and urgency of what has happened,” he said. According to the ministry’s briefing, 320 Indian nationals remain uncontactable, including many of Indian origin, Tharoor pointed out.

“Hundreds more remain stranded on the Chinese side. Many were pilgrims on their way to Kailash Mansarovar, a journey some had waited their whole lives to undertake. Ground reports suggest that entire stretches along the Tibet-Nepal border and in other badly affected areas, including Timure and Rasuwagadhi, have still not been reached by any search party,” he said, noting that there may still be people alive beneath that debris.

The window in which they can be brought out alive is narrowing by the hour, he said. “I understand that Kathmandu has now agreed to accept limited foreign expertise for tunnel rescue, DNA testing and forensic work, and that our offer to send Indian teams is still awaiting a response. I would urge that we press, at the highest political level and without further delay, for the following: First, the immediate clearance and induction of a full NDRF contingent with its equipment, rather than a limited number of experts,” he said in his letter.

Tharoor called for the deployment of an army engineer task force with earth-moving equipment, along with the Bailey bridges that India has offered, to reopen the Pasang Lhamu Highway.

He called for the deployment of Indian Air Force heavy-lift helicopters for Rasuwa and Nuwakot to reach roads rendered inaccessible. Tharoor also called for the use of ground-penetrating radar, thermal imaging, sniffer dog squads and satellite tasking to map the debris fields and establish search priorities.

He asked the Centre for specific and sustained tasking of the Timure to Rasuwagadhi stretch. “Since Wednesday morning, I have been hearing from families whose loved ones remain unaccounted for. Not one has come to me with a complaint. They speak first of their gratitude for what India has already done, before they speak of their own son, daughter, husband or wife,” he said.

What these people have now is a fear that is difficult to put into words, the Congress leader said. “Above all, they want to know that, whatever the eventual outcome, everything that India could have done was offered, and that nothing was held back,” he said.

“With the greatest respect, and with the utmost urgency, I hope we can ensure that no stone is left unturned, and that whatever can be moved is moved now rather than after another round of evaluation. Every hour that passes narrows the ground on which hope can still stand,” Tharoor said.

He copied his letter to Jaishankar to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The death toll from flash floods in central Nepal rose to 669 on Saturday, with more bodies being recovered, even as more than 2,000 people are still missing. Bodies were recovered from all eight affected districts as search and rescue operations continue on a war footing.