India gifts disaster relief support to Nepal

India has handed over food and disaster relief material to the Nepal government at a ceremony held at the Nepalese Home Affairs Ministry in Kathmandu.

The Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava handed over the consignments to Bal Krishna Khand, Home Minister of Nepal. They include 3,000 tents (Big/Family) and ten motor inflatable boats.

Speaking on the occasion the Indian Ambassador said, "We all know that natural disasters such as floods and landslides strike India and Nepal annually resulting in damages which endanger many lives and properties. In order to face it and minimize the effects, India and Nepal have been coordinating and adopting measures to minimize the impacts of floods. Sometimes, the floods result in damages, in order to mitigate the effects we have been working on it for years,"

The Indian envoy further added that he held talks with Nepali President Bidhya Devi Bhandari about issues of floods and further measures to be adopted in wake of the monsoon. In Nepal, the monsoon season starts in June and lasts for four months.

Ambassador Srivastava also said that this timely supply of relief material is optimally utilized by concerned agencies to ensure its maximum benefit by timely distribution and efficient utilization.

"Our friendship between Nepal and India is unique in itself. The humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness and response support have always been instrumental in saving lives and providing needful relief support to disaster-affected people in Nepal," Bal Krishna Khand said.

The Home Minister praised the Indian government for its support and said that this demonstrates the good relationship between the two nations and fostering of people-to-people relations. He also thanked the Indian Embassy for coordinating and facilitating the humanitarian assistance cooperation and everlasting friendship between the two countries.

(ANI)