Nepal & Bhutan Brief (10/15)

Internal Developments:

Earthquake After Shocks Continue:

1. Nepal was caught off guard by another round of powerful earthquake of 6.8 magnitude on May 12. The death toll in the May 12 quake reached 96 while with 2,563 people injured. The hardest hit in this round was Dolakha district where the number of deaths climbed to 71. However, a number of people were saved and rescued since the personnel deployed in the region post-April 25 disaster, was still around when the tragedy struck. The Home Ministry has computed the death toll at 8,250 in the successive earthquakes of April 25 and May 12. According to National Emergency Operation Centre, as many as 673 government offices were completely damaged while 742 were partly damaged. Similarly, 479,308 private dwellings were completely destroyed and 263,036 partly damaged in the earthquake (April 25) and after shocks (May 12).

India continues Quake Assistance to Nepal:

2. Indian assistance to Nepal towards relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts continued with nearly 700 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, several medical teams and government and non-government sectors contributing significantly aid in relief distribution efforts. Indian Air Force carried over 550 tons of relief material, (food, tents blanket, water, tarpaulins, baby food, medicine etc) along with rescue and heavy earth moving, engineering and communication equipment, ambulances, RO plant, oxygen generators etc. Two Army Field Hospitals with 18 medical teams, 18 Army engineering teams and 16 NDRF teams. Eight Mi-17 and five Advanced Light Helicopters of Indian Army are deployed for rescue and relief.

3. External Affairs Ministry set up a control room in New Delhi for dissemination of information after the May 12 earthquake. Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the concerned security and vigilance bodies to remain and to send a team to Nepal to take stock of situation in the aftermath of the strong quake. A Mi-17 helicopter was kept on standby at the Delhi airport to respond to any request from the Nepali authorities for further assistance in rescue work. PM Modi said that India was always ready to extend humanitarian and developmental assistance to Nepal while respecting Nepal’s sovereignty and self-esteem of Nepali people. During a telephone conversation with Nepali Prime Minister Sushil Kumar Koirala on May 13, PM Modi made the commitment to provide assistance to Nepal in the aftermath of the two major earthquakes. PM Koirala thanked his Indian counterpart and the people of India for prompt and spontaneous support. Koirala appreciated the role played by Indian search, rescue and relief teams in saving lives of the people by providing relief to the victims in co-ordination with Nepal’s security agencies, medical teams and civil servants. A high level team comprising National Security Advisor and Foreign Secretary visited Nepal for talk with the Nepalese officials to review the assistance programme and to9 determine Nepal’s further needs.

4. Earlier, on May 7, 2015, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, signed a condolence book at the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi and reiterated India’s commitment to continue to extend all possible assistance help tin the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. Swaraj said that the government and people of India were deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of lives and massive destruction of property caused by April 25 earthquake. As a close friend and neighbour sharing historic people-to-people ties with each other, India stands with Nepal in firm solidarity during this difficult time, she added.

US to Support Nepal Relief and Rehabilitation:

5. US President Barack Obama in a message to PM Koirala assured that the government and the people of the United states were ready to provide necessary support for the relief and rehabilitation to Nepal. The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Desai Biswal, conveyed the message in her meeting with Prime Minister Koirala in Kathmandu on May 15.

US Chopper Crash Site Traced:

6. Three charred bodies were recovered from the wreckage of the United States Marine Corps helicopter that was spotted in the remote mountainous area of Ghorthali in Sindhupalchok district on May 15. There were apparently no survivors in the tragedy. The chopper deployed on search and rescue mission to Dolakha, had six US Marines and two Nepali soldiers on board and was missing since May 12 evening.

Pakistan too stands by Nepal:

7. In a brief interaction with the members of Nepali press on May 10, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Nepal Arshad Saud Khosa said that the government of Pakistan and the people firmly stood by Nepal and share the painful moments which Nepal was passing through. He expressed confidence that Nepal would not yield but face the calamity boldly. He indicated that on April 25 itself Pakistan’s Prime Minister, who was on an official visit to the United Kingdom, expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives with a condolence message. Pak PM Nawaz Sharif had also directed all concerned in Pakistan to make urgent arrangement for the dispatch of relief assistance to Nepal.

Everest Climbers Prefer Tibet — China Rroute:

8. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, scaling the Everest from Nepal side route has come under question. For the growing number of western climbers determined to continue with their climbing mission, if it is not Nepal it will be Tibet. If this trend were to continue, Nepal will suffer significant economic losses on account of permit fees that contribute a few million dollars each year. Nepal’s tourism economy is worth $340 million with Everest mission being a big contributor. The China-Tibet Mountain Association, which issues climbing permits, moved quickly to assist expeditions to descend after the quakes. The Nepalese government has to come up with quick decision.
Government’s plan for rehabilitation, reconstruction works:

9. Government in conjunction with its development partners is planning to conduct an assessment to ascertain the extent of resources required for reconstruction and rehabilitation works. The government aims to gather necessary data ahead of a donor conference likely to be held in two months. Japan had proposed a donor conference for Nepal at the recently concluded annual general meeting of the Asian Development Bank. The government was working on three-pronged strategy of rebuilding private houses, reconstruction of government buildings and restoration of heritage sites.

10. Nepal’s Parliament in a meeting on May 13, unanimously adopted a resolution on rehabilitation of earthquake victims and reconstruction of quake-ravaged infrastructures. The motion was jointly moved by chief whips of the three largest parties — Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN (Maoist) — and seconded by 26 lawmakers from various political parties. Through the motion, political parties represented in parliament have vowed to jointly work toward speedy recovery of damaged infrastructures and rehabilitation of victims. The House formed a special committee on National Disaster Management, Monitoring and Direction led by Speaker Subas Nembang. The committee will monitor and direct the government on rehabilitation and reconstruction works.
Political Developments:

11. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, talking to local political leaders and media persons, during his visit to Dolakha to assess the damage in the May 12, earthquake, said that the government’s plan could be implemented only if all political parties work in unity. He said that this was not the time to play politics but work together to deal with calamity. He further said that the government was working on to bring an acceptable plan of rehabilitation and reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure caused by great quake.

12. On the other hand, United Maoist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has advocated the formation of a national unity government to deal with the crisis. K.P. Sharma Oli, Chairman of the UML and Sher Bahadur Deuba, a senior Nepali Congress leader, also support the idea of formation of national unity government. Oli and Deuba, it may be noted, have been separately seeking to topple the government headed by N.C. President Sushil Koirala. Reports appearing in a section of the media (Annapurna Post Daily, May 11) suggest that KP Sharma Oli had quietly sent one of his close confidants, Bishnu Poudel, to meet Unified Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, to talk to him in this connection. Later, Bishnu Poudel said that he was of opinion that majority of the leaders were of the view that to tackle challenges posed by earthquake and also to speed up constitution drafting process, forming of national unity government had become necessary.
Bhutan

Internal Developments:

Joint Sitting of Parliament Endorses Tenancy Bill:

1. A joint sitting of the Parliament endorsed Tenancy Bill, 2014, on May 14. Of the 66 members present, 60 voted in favour of the bill. The initial reaction of tenants was that the legislation was loaded in favour of land lords. However, the speaker Jigme Zangpo said that the bill favoured both tenant and the owner equally.

External Relations:

Construction of 40-bed Hospital, a GoI Project, Begins:

2. Work on construction of a 40-bed hospital in Damphu began with an impressive ceremony on May 13. The hospital, a government of India project, will be constructed, next to the existing hospital, on an area of 5,000.60 sqm. Information and Communication Minister Lyonpo DN Dhungyel thanked the government of India for its unwavering support in providing good health care to the people of Bhutan.

Relief team Return from Nepal:

3. The first batch of relief medical team, which was sent to Nepal, returned to Bhutan on May 13. The team was in Nepal since April 25. The second batch will return soon. Bhutanese medical team treated over 1,900 patients and performed over 190 surgeries.
Bhutan, Switzerland Consultation held:

4. Consultations between Bhutan and Switzerland were held in Thimphu on May 7 to discuss the way forward for the completion of Swiss official development assistance projects. Also, the possibility of extending some of the current Swiss supported development programmes, which are to be completed by 2018, coinciding with the end of 11th Five-year plan, was discussed. The two sides decided to hold bilateral consultations to further strengthen the relations, fostering institutional and academic linkages, people-to-people contacts and private partnerships as well as increasing co-operation in regional and multilateral for a.