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Tensions rise in Nepal after 'weak' response to deadly quake

29 April 2015 20:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The death toll from the devastating earthquake in Nepal four days ago passed 5,000 on Wednesday as officials conceded they had made mistakes in their initial response, leaving survivors stranded in remote villages waiting for aid and relief, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Over 200 Nepalis protested outside parliament in the capital Kathmandu, demanding the government increase the number of buses going to the interior hills and improve distribution of aid.

"I haven't been able to contact my family members in the village," said Kayant Panday, one of the protesters, who said he woke up at 4 a.m. to get a bus to a badly hit area but was not able to get one. "There is no way I can get information whether they are dead or alive."

The government has yet to fully assess the devastation wrought by Saturday's 7.8 magnitude quake, unable to reach many mountainous areas despite aid supplies and personnel pouring in from around the world.

Anger and frustration were mounting, with many Nepalis sleeping out in the open under makeshift tents for a fourth night since the country's worst quake in more than 80 years.

"This is a disaster on an unprecedented scale. There have been some weaknesses in managing the relief operation," Nepal's Communication Minister Minendra Rijal said late on Tuesday.

"We will improve this from Wednesday."

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has told Reuters the death toll could reach 10,000, with information on casualties and damage from far-flung villages and towns yet to come in.

That would surpass the 8,500 who died in a 1934 earthquake, the last disaster on this scale to hit the Himalayan nation of 28 million people located between India and China.