Nepal is member of the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace. We have been anxiously awaiting news from Nepal, particularly about members of the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace, as we have dear friends among their number. One email has been received, which gives information about the current state of affairs in Nepal.
Supplies are running thin and aftershocks have strained nerves in the ruined city, home to some 2.5 million before it was shattered by Saturday’s 7.8 magnitude quake.
Desperate to leave, thousands of people began gathering from before dawn outside the main bus station after the government promised to lay on special services to far-flung rural areas.
We are very happy that Ms. Manandhar Indira has survived. She is a dear friend of the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace. Below is one email received from Ms Mnandhar Indira:
Hello,
We are deeply sadden and shocked with Saturday’s earthquake.
I want to take this opportunity to announce that I and along with family are doing fine and have been taking all measures of safety since the government announced 5 days of holiday since the quake. Sorry to have replied late. I have come in contact with acrp personnel but we were disconnected in few seconds.
I want all the ARCP members to not worry about us, however, the country mourns the deaths of many. I thanks you for ur concern and welcome any form of help and urge you to help in anyway or form for the victims and survivors of the devastation that was caused by the quake.
Thank you, Manandhar Indira
Nepal Government
The government acknowledged it had been overwhelmed by the devastation from the deadliest quake in Nepal in over 80 years.
“There have been some weaknesses in managing the relief operation,” Communications Minister Minendra Rijal told Nepal’s Kantipur Television.
“The disaster has been so huge and unprecedented that we have not been in a position to meet the expectations of the needy people. But we are ready to accept our weakness, learn and move ahead in the best way possible.”
There was also desperation in devastated rural areas. People have been pleading to be airlifted out when the occasional helicopter has reached their villages with relief supplies.
A total of 5,057 people are so far known to have died in Nepal and around 100 more in neighboring India and China.
Around 8,000 were injured while the United Nations estimates that eight million people have been affected.
Hundreds of thousands of people were still sleeping outside in the streets under tents. Their homes had either been wrecked or were feared to be on the verge of collapse.
Nepalese sit in the shade at a military stadium in the neighborhood of Tudikhel where they have sought shelter and have been living in tents in a field in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Wednesday, April 29, 2015. Many Nepalese live outside Kathmandu in the suburbs or in villages but have been stuck inside Kathmandu without transportation since the earthquake struck on Saturday. Many wear masks because they are afraid of disease due to the unsanitary conditions of the city caused by the earthquake. (Erin Trieb /The Washington Post)
