Today, Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar assured Nepal of India’s continued possible support in the wake of the devastating earthquake and said that all requirements will be met as per their request.
Noting that scaling down or stepping up of relief operations by India depended on Nepal’s needs, he said, “Whatever their requirement, we will provide that. You cannot jump on someone and help him (sic). We are doing everything as per their requirement.”
Asked if there was any plan to scale down air operations by India, Parrikar said “it is the responsibility of the IAF to meet Nepal’s request and their requirement. They are in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs”.
Speaking on the sidelines of the inaugural session of Controllers’ Conference here, the minister said the focus of the operation right now was on extending relief and support.
Since April 25, IAF has airlifted a total of 3,193 persons, flying a total of 48 fixed-wing sorties by C-17 Globemaster III, IL-76, C130J Super Hercules and AN-32 aircraft to land a total of 314.6 tonnes of relief material and equipment. Over 950 personnel have been deployed for rescue and relief operations in Nepal, the IAF had said in a statement.
