Operation Maitri: Salute to the Indian Forces!

Despite the utterly disgusting way that the Indian politicians have treated the Indian Armed Forces, the men and women in uniform putting their lives on the line for India have been exemplary always!  Indian Armed Forces are easily one of the most disciplined and professional in the world.

In the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake, it is the Indian Armed Forces who have come together to do some amazing work for the people in Nepal – locals, Indians and Foreigners stranded there.  India was the first nation to respond to the crisis and launched a full-fledged relief operation codenamed Operation Maitri.

They have already set up a Multi National Coordination Centre in Pension Paying Office at Pokhara.

Here is a list of what has been achieved already in the face of some very heavy odds:

1. Kathmandu to Pokhara road has been opened up by Engineer Task Force who were inducted on Sunday
2. Satellite communication link between Nepalese Army Headquarters and Indian Army Engineer Task Force has been established
3. A Movement Control Team has been set up in Kathmandu to direct relief convoys to affected areas
4. Army has established a helicopter base in Pokhara and  pressed into service four advanced light helicopters and two Cheetah choppers
5. 1,000 National Disaster Response Force personnel have been pressed into service
6. Induction of 18 medical teams alongwith three field hospitals, has been completed
7. One field hospital has been deployed at Rajdalgarh near Lalitpur with one orthopaedic specialist, one surgical specialist and one anaesthetist along with attached medical staff
8. Additional doctors have been tasked to cover 80 KM radius area around the base in two mobile teams
9. One Engineer Task Force was inducted on Sunday comprising 40 personnel, five Earth Moving Equipment (Engineer Plant) and generators is fully functional now
10. The Army dispatched 5,000 blankets and 500 tents by road to Nepal on Monday.  400 blankets and 40 tents were sent on Sunday by air.  A total of 10 tons of blankets, 50 tons of water, 22 tons of food items and 2 tons of medicines to Kathmandu
11. An Electrical Damage Assessment Team was also deployed in Nepal today to assess the damages and repair wherever possible
12. 3.5 tonnes of relief load has been air dropped in inaccessible places
13. 2,305 stranded persons have been evacuated from Kathmandu to India.
14. 35 buses deployed to evacuate stranded Indians in Nepal via two routes – Sonauli and Raxaul – along the Indo-Nepal border
15. Goodwill visas to foreigners stranded in Nepal and mobilizing buses and ambulances to bring them to India by road
16. Indian Army expedition team located at the Everest Base Camp assisting in evacuation and rendering medical aid to the injured and stranded mountaineers
17. Five tonnes of milk, light vehicles, RO Plant, oxygen regenerators, medicines, blankets, tents, 14 tonnes of food (ITC Noodles), three National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams, 2 Field Hospitals, 2 Air Force Communication Centre Vehicles and Medicine sent to the Everest base camp on Monday
18. Four C-17 Globemaster, three C-130J Super Hercules, three IL-76 and two AN-32 aircraft set into action from morning to night to transport relief material.

The entire effort that has been mobilized within hours of the earthquake thanks to the quick thinking and action by Prime Minister Modi.  As Indian Home Minister said in the Parliament:

“Just five minutes before the earthquake, I was with the PM. When I came home, called me and said he had called a meeting on a very major disaster. I have no problem in admitting that the alertness that I should have shown as home minister was shown by the PM,” Mr Singh said in a statement in the Lok Sabha on the disaster that has left over 3,700 dead.

As reported, the entire Team Modi was into action very quickly after the earthquake.

Within forty minutes of the first tremor, PM Modi’s avid social media skills were on full display as he came on Twitter and Facebook to assuage the nation that the government is already in process to reach out to those affected by the quake. Following the tremors, he also chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation.

With Modi and Indian Armed Forces – India has the ideal combo to respond to any occassion within minutes!

Some Pictures of the Relief Work