China's "prompt and swift" relief aid and assistance to quake-stricken Nepal will undoubtedly promote Nepal-China ties, a senior politician from the Nepali Congress, Nepal's biggest political party, has said, appreciating help from the Chinese government and people. [Special coverage]
As search and rescue operations were gradually focused on post- quake reconstruction and the Himalayan country's only international airport remained packed with cargo and passenger aircraft, government statistics showed that as of Saturday, the 7. 9-magnitude quake that caused extensive devastation has claimed nearly 8,000 lives and injured over 17,800 people.
Shashanka Koirala, a senior politician from the locally famed Koirala political family, said he was shocked by the quake and concerned about its aftermath.
"The houses are all gone because most of the houses in rural Nepal are built either on bricks or small stones ... Because of its difficult terrain, it is very difficult for helicopters to reach every house," Koirala told Xinhua in an interview.
"There are lots of criticism about aid not reaching but the government cannot do anything more than this. We're trying to reach all the villages but it will take time. Now the strategy is rescue first and then provide shelter tents," Koirala said.
Shortly after the April 25 quake, the China International Search and Rescue Team rushed to Nepal, one of the foreign aid teams to reach the quake-devastated the country. Despite difficulties, the China team managed to extricated two people trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Out of the some 100 foreign search and rescue teams, only five succeeded in locating and saving survivors.
Other Chinese rescue and medical teams also joined local authorities and international counterparts to find survivors, attend the displaced, treat the injured and prevent a potential epidemic outbreak.
To date, China has provided over 540 tons of aid supplies worth some 10 million U.S. dollars to Nepal, including 1,600 tents, 10, 000 blankets and over 320 generators, according to the Chinese embassy to Nepal. In addition, the Chinese Red Cross sent 2,000 tents to Nepal.
Meanwhile, at the request of the Nepalese government, China has dispatched a road repairing and rescue detachment from the armed police forces to Nepal to help restore a damaged cross-border highway with China, facilitating the delivery of urgently needed aid supplies.
"I am very thankful that ... very prompt and swift action has been taken by the Chinese government and that is very good, and their help has been tremendous - there are experts who have come from China for rescue, for which I would like to thank the people of China and government of China for the very swift response," said Koirala, who is also an ophthalmologist.
The politician and eye doctor believed China has a lot to offer in Nepal's post-quake reconstruction which would take years.
"China has seen a lot of (disaster) management and China has done tremendous when you had earthquakes ... So I expect that in the coming year, China will be able to help us out and to deal with such crisis and for reconstruction," Koirala said. "I hear bamboo is one that you can actually build house with and that is earthquake-proof. So we need to think out of the box and in new concept and I think China will be able to help."
Koirala also cited history as a proof of the friendship between the two neighbors.
"In the past, China built a cancer hospital and built roads. It has helped us in various buildings like the constitution building . .. So China has been helping us over the last 30, 40, 50, 60 years and has been a very good partner to Nepal and we want to better it now," he said.
"My father (former Nepalese Prime Minister) B.P. Koirala developed the best relations with China and we are following what he wanted to do. We hope that the relations can go even stronger and such is the time when Nepal needs the assistance and Chinese have given us assistance," said Koirala.
