THE monster 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook the Kathmandu valley on Saturday has now claimed 4,310 lives and injured almost 8,000, according to official figures.
All expeditions and tourism-related activities have ground to a halt, said the consulate general of Nepal, Kolkata office, and prominent heritage sites have been destroyed or affected.
At least 17 mountain climbers were killed on the slopes of Mount Everest after an avalanche was triggered by Saturday’s quake, and many more remain stranded at Camp 1 and Camp 2 awaiting evacuation to base camp, say international news agencies.
However, Singapore’s The Straits Times reported that local travel agencies including CTC Travel and Dynasty Travel have no plans to change tours to Kathmandu or Tibet, the latter having also been affected by the tremors.
Sheryl Lim, regional director of Insight Vacations Asia, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the tour operator is saddened by the earthquake. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the affected.”
“Insight Vacations runs a four-day Mini Stay in Kathmandu as part of the India Specialist Program. We did not have any clients in Kathmandu at the time of the earthquake,” she said. “We will be guided by the advisory of the relevant authorities in Nepal when they are available to update our clients on their future travel plans.”
Insight’s tour season and programme start only in August and the tour operator will advise adjustments as more information becomes clear.
Meanwhile, regional carrier SilkAir has announced that flights to and from Kathmandu will continue to operate as per its schedule, but will waive all administrative charges and penalties for customers holding confirmed tickets issued on or before April 25 who would like to rebook travel to and from Kathmandu between now and October 31, 2015.
In response to TTG Asia e-Daily’s query, a PATA spokesperson said in an email: “On Saturday, we held the PATA Foundation Charity Gala Dinner (in Leshan, China), where the chairman of the PATA Foundation publicly pledged to help Nepal.” Further details are pending.
The UN is also said to be readying a flash appeal for funding from the international community tomorrow.
For those who would like to donate towards relief efforts, Facebook is facilitating donations to International Medical Corps and has pledged to match all gifts dollar for dollar, up to US$2 million.
The Singapore Red Cross is also accepting contributions online atwww.sggives.org/nepalsrcs.
