New Delhi: On Wednesday, tragedy struck parts of Tibet and Nepal after a wall of mud and rock appeared to collapse into the Bhote Koshi river, triggering flash floods in the region. As of Thursday evening, Nepal’s police put the death toll at 359, with hundreds, including at least 288 Indian nationals, still missing.
On this side of the border, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed nine teams in Bihar and one in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh to deal with any eventualities.
It was against this backdrop that chief ministers of various Indian states took to social media platforms to issue statements in support of Nepal.
“Nepal is not merely our neighboring nation but a kindred country deeply connected to us through cultural and emotional bonds. Thus, whenever any calamity strikes Nepal, we, the people of this region, feel its pain and sorrow just as profoundly,” said Prem Singh Tamang, the chief minister of Sikkim.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma also expressed solidarity, saying that the people of Assam stand with “our brothers and sisters in Nepal”.
Many states have set up their own control rooms and helpline numbers to facilitate the safe homecoming of Indian nationals from that state.
Tamil Nadu CM Vijay held a consultation meeting Thursday at the Secretariat to take stock of the situation. A group of at least 80 members affiliated with the Isha Foundation have been reported missing in the aftermath of the flash floods. “I have directed the senior officials of the Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi to take all necessary actions to swiftly rescue those from Tamil Nadu who have gone missing in this disaster and to provide the required assistance to those affected,” Vijay wrote on X.
Karnataka CM D.K. Shivakumar said, “The safety of our people comes first. My thoughts are with every Kannadiga who may be stranded in Nepal or Tibet and with their families waiting anxiously for their loved ones.”
“The CMO has directly established contact with the tourist group from Kanhangad, Kasaragod stranded in Nepal, and they have confirmed they are safe. Continuous efforts are underway to reach and connect with all other stranded groups from the state,” Kerala CM V.D. Satheesan wrote on X.
As the Haryana Legislative Assembly began its Monsoon session Thursday, CM Nayab Singh Saini expressed sympathy for victims of the tragedy in Nepal on behalf of the House.
Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami both highlighted how the geographical conditions of the Himalayan region make it vulnerable to natural disasters. Sukhu linked the increasing occurrence of extreme weather events in the region to climate change, recalling the devastating cloudburst and flooding in Kinnaur in 1993 as well as the other natural disasters witnessed by Himachal Pradesh in recent years.
In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where the floods triggered alerts, CM Yogi Adityanath and Samrat Chaudhury have instructed the local administration to remain vigilant and ensure necessary preparations. Choudhury said a survey of the flood situation was conducted in Bihar’s border areas of Bagaha, Valmiki Nagar, Bettiah, and Motihari. “Ensuring the safety of citizens in flood-affected areas and providing every possible assistance is our utmost priority,” he wrote in a post on X.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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