Past lessons: Why Nepal declined rescue help offer from India, China and others

The Balen Shah-led Nepalese government has said it is capable of handling the search-and-rescue operation in the aftermath of the devastating floods. Nepal turned down the offer of help from several countries, and opted for a domestic chain of command. This has been shaped by its 2015 earthquake experience.

In Short

• Kathmandu is accepting relief supplies and funds, but not foreign rescue teams
• Over 400 people have died; over 1,300 people including 290 Indians are missing
• Nepal cites 2015 earthquake chaos, coordination strain as reasons behind move

Nepal has declined offers from several countries to deploy foreign search-and-rescue teams after the catastrophic Bhote Koshi floods, according to Nepalese media reports.

India said on Friday that it had specifically offered to send National Distatser relief Force (NDRF) personnel and equipment and was still awaiting Kathmandu's response. Nepal has accepted other specialised assistance from India, including a tunnel-rescue team, a medical team and portable Bailey bridges.

While Nepal is accepting foreign assistance in the form of relief supplies and financial contributions channelled through the government, it has declined offers of foreign search-and-rescue assistance. There is a lesson from the past behind Kathmandu's decision.

India's Ministry of External Affairs on Friday issued a statement on Friday that made a distinction between the reported Nepalese policy against foreign rescue contingents and the assistance Kathmandu is accepting for specific operations. "We have also made a specific offer to Nepal authorities to dispatch NDRF teams along with associated equipment that can help in ongoing search and rescue operations. We await a response from Nepal," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

India, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were among the countries that officially or informally offered search-and-rescue teams. International organisations also approached Kathmandu, while some governments offered helicopters and personnel trained to operate in disaster zones, according to Kathmandu-based news outlets, The Kathmandu Post and Hamro Patro.

The flash floods have killed around 600 people, while hundreds remain missing or uncontactable, according to the latest figures. Hundreds of foreign nationals, including Indians travelling to Kailash Mansarovar and Gosainkunda, are among those unaccounted for. The MEA said 320 Indian nationals and 100 people of Indian origin remained uncontactable. Around 85 Indians had been rescued, while contact had been established with approximately 400 Indians on the Tibetan side, who were reported safe.

Following its Neighbourhood First Policy, India initially sent 10 tonnes of humanitarian assistance and followed it with another 37.5 tonnes aboard a military transport aircraft. The supplies carried by C-130J and C-17 aircraft included temporary shelters, blankets, hygiene kits, solar lamps, medicines and food packets. New Delhi has also offered Bailey and prefabricated truss bridges to Nepal, where dozens of small and big bridges have been destroyed. India was among the first responders when a devastating earthquake hit Nepal in 2015.

Portable Bailey bridges have since been sent by India following a request from Nepal. India is also sending a medical team and a specialised tunnel-rescue team to help reach around 100 people believed to have been trapped for two days at the Trishuli 3A hydropower project.

So, why has Kathmandu declined any assistance in search and rescue operations from countries including India, China and the United States?

NEPAL SAYS ITS OWN FORCES CAN HANDLE RESCUE. WHY?

A senior Nepalese foreign ministry official told The Kathmandu Post that the government had received multiple official and unofficial requests from countries and organisations seeking permission to send their teams. "However, the government has told them that Nepal's own security agencies are capable of handling the operation," the report said.

Nepal's experience after the April 2015 earthquake was central to the decision, according to the senior foreign ministry official quoted by The Kathmandu Post.

The earthquake brought a massive international response, with rescue contingents, military aircraft and relief organisations arriving from across the world. While this expanded Nepal's emergency capacity, the sudden influx also created serious logistical and administrative pressure.

Nepali officials told the Post that competition among foreign contingents and difficulties coordinating their movements complicated management at a time when airports, roads and communication networks were already under strain.

Kathmandu now wants to avoid a repeat by retaining a clear Nepali chain of command rather than accommodating several independently operating foreign rescue teams.

Nepal has reportedly declined the deployment of general foreign search-and-rescue contingents, but is accepting supplies, equipment and assistance for specific operations. MEA's Jaiswal on Friday said India had offered NDRF teams and equipment and was awaiting Nepal's response.

"Whatever request has been made by Nepal, we are acting on that," he said on Wednesday.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India had presented Nepal with "a range of support offers" and that Kathmandu would select whatever it considered appropriate.

A ONE-DOOR SYSTEM FOR FOREIGN HELP; SPECIAL TEAM FOR MISSING FOREIGNERS

Nepal has asked its overseas missions to seek financial support only through the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. This "one-door mechanism" is intended to centralise contributions, avoid duplication and allow the government to decide where resources are most urgently needed.

Kathmandu expects to seek further financial and material support during rehabilitation and reconstruction. The United States, the United Kingdom and the World Bank have already announced assistance, while the Asian Development Bank has offered support extending beyond the emergency to risk assessment, early-warning systems and resilient infrastructure, according to news agency Reuters.

The Nepalese foreign ministry has also established an Emergency Response Team (ERT) to coordinate cases involving overseas nationals. Nepal's Department of Tourism said in figures released on Thursday that 668 tourists from 34 countries had been out of contact since Wednesday. At least 290 Indians are missing or uncontactable in Nepal, according to New Delhi,

"The ERT shall serve as the central coordinating body within the ministry to facilitate search, rescue, information verification, and consular assistance in respect of foreign nationals affected by, missing in, or otherwise connected to the flood incident," the Nepalese foreign ministry said.

An under-secretary has also been sent to the operations team in Timure, Rasuwa, to collect information directly from security personnel and relay it to Kathmandu.

Even as India extends the assistance Nepal needs amid the present flood crisis, New Delhi has long been among the first to help its neighbours in times of disaster.

India played a frontline search-and-rescue role after Nepal's devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake in April 2015. Under Operation Maitri, Indian Air Force aircraft and helicopters delivered relief supplies, evacuated stranded people and flew missions to areas cut off by the earthquake. India also deployed National Disaster Response Force teams, medical personnel, engineers and sniffer dogs, becoming one of the first countries to reach Nepal.

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