India handed over disaster relief materials to Nepal on Friday, as part of its commitment to support the neighbouring countries' effort to deal with natural disasters.
India’s ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, handed over consignments of flood and disaster-relief material to Nepal's home minister Bal Krishna Khand at a ceremony held at Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs in Kathmandu earlier on Friday.
According to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, the relief material includes 3000 tents and 10 motor inflatable boats.
Foot patrolling is the most important drill during monsoons in Terai jungles. It’s key to protect animals from poaching and smuggled through porous Indo-Nepal borders.
Fallen trees and temporarily built bridges help us to meet the challenges. From archives. #MonsoonPatrolling pic.twitter.com/mYnFyjaBKh— Ramesh Pandey (@rameshpandeyifs) July 11, 2021
Speaking at the ceremony, Nepal's home minister Khand thanked the Indian government for the timely delivery of the relief material and lauded ongoing disaster relief-related cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.
On the occasion, ambassador Srivastava expressed that this timely supply of relief material is optimally utilized by concerned agencies to ensure its maximum benefit by timely distribution and efficient utilization.
"As close neighbours, India and Nepal share wide-ranging & multi-sectoral cooperation. The gifting of relief material reflects the continued support of the Government of India in bolstering the Government of Nepal's efforts to build a disaster-resilient Nepal," read a press statement issued by the Indian Embassy.
Earlier in August 2021, India handed over disaster relief materials worth Nepali rupees 80 million as part of humanitarian assistance to help the affected families in 15 flood-hit districts of the Himalayan country.
Nepal is prone to natural hazards, particularly flash floods and earthquakes. Every year, the monsoon leaves a devastating trail of loss across the country. In the first week of July, monsoon rains caused huge damage — rivers and streams have swollen up dangerously, while landslides have been eroding soil in the hills.
South Asia hit by monsoon floods
Heavy floods are occurring in India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. The floods have killed scores of people, and destroyed homes, and drowned villages. @PriyankaSh25 brings you this report pic.twitter.com/L4vYYKdZfl
— WION (@WIONews) July 16, 2020
In the past six months, 194 people have lost their lives to natural disasters leaving hundreds injured, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), which falls under Nepal's home ministry.
The NDRRMA said that the government has deployed Nepal Army helicopters in flood-hit areas in three provinces of Nepal. According to the authority, 72 out of 77 districts are at risk of floods and landslides.
