New Delhi: After Turkey and Syria, India has now reached out to quake-hit Tajikistan and is providing all possible assistance to the Tajik Government. Official; sources on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken stock of the situation. They further revealed that PM is monitoring developments relating to the impact of the earthquake in Tajikistan.
"We are in touch with Tajik authorities and relevant GOI bodies are closely coordinating any required assistance", officials apprised of the situation noted. After a devastating earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, an earthquake of 6.8 magnitudes hit eastern Tajikistan on Thursday around 5.37 am local time.
India, in the past, has played a role in search and rescue operations as well as humanitarian operations in areas of conflict, including Afghanistan and Palestine. This seems to be a continuation in the case of Turkey-Syria quakes as well, with disaster management teams having been sent to aid those afflicted while setting aside bilateral relations.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, India's relief operations involved a whole-of-government approach with coordination among various agencies. The swift response led to the first Indian Air Force's C-17 Globemaster aircraft with a specialized SAR team leaving for Turkey within hours of a request for assistance being received, official sources said.
These include three self-sustained teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) numbering more than 150 specially trained personnel, along with dog squads, specialized equipment, vehicles, and supplies. Their equipment allows for the detection, location, access, and extrication of people trapped under collapsed structures.
