As many as 80 buses have been sent by the Uttar Pradesh government to facilitate the return of those stranded in earthquake-struck Kathmandu region in Nepal.
A special relief camp has also been set up in Gorakhpur, which remains the most conveniently approachable major Indian destination for those returning to UP from the Himalayan kingdom.
According to Gorakhpur divisional commissioner Rakesh Ojha, who is heads the coordination between the two sides of the border in the region, “We are expecting the return of the first batch of people from Kathmandu by Tuesday evening.”
Simultaneously, 18 trucks sent by the state government with packaged drinking water, biscuits and other relief material, including medicines were also stated to have reached Kathmandu on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, as many as about 400-500 Indian tourists have already crossed over on their personal vehicles from Nepal through the border at Sonauli, about 90 km from Gorakhpur ever since the 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit the Nepal capital on Saturday.
“Many of them availed the facilities at the relief camp set up on the GorakhpurUniversity campus, where tents have been put up together with arrangement for food and refreshments.” said an official spokesman.
“Most of these tourists were part of large conducted tours; yet some stayed overnight at the camp to catch trains for their respective destinations the following morning, while others preferred to take the road to Lucknow from where they could move further,” he pointed out.
“The relief camp is equipped to cater to 800-900 people at a given time; and care was being taken to ensure that not only food and snacks was made available to all, but also first-aid and basic medical assistance was being ensured,” he added.
Earlier, UP chief minister Akhiesh Yadav had announced an ex gratia relief of Rs 7 lakh for the next of kin of each of the 13 victims who had lost their lives following collapse of houses due to the impact of the earthquake in different parts of the state.
