New Delhi: India has dispatched a total of 157 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Myanmar, where the death toll from a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that occurred on Friday has crossed 1,600 and is expected to climb further.During a press briefing on Saturday (March 29) afternoon, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that as part of its relief operations in Myanmar – which the Modi government has called ‘Operation Brahma’ – India by Saturday evening was scheduled to send five aircraft carrying relief material, rescue personnel as well as a field hospital.Two ships, the INS Savitri and the INS Satpura, were en route to Myanmar and are slated to reach its largest city Yangon on Monday, Indian Navy Commodore Raghu Nair said. Two more ships were on standby in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and are scheduled to reach Myanmar when the Savitri and Satpura leave the country, he added.Friday’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake had an epicentre about 16 kilometres away from Myanmar’s second-most populous city of Mandalay in the country’s centre and occurred at around 12:50 pm local time.Damaged pagodas are seen after Friday’s powerful earthquake in Naypyidaw. Photo: AP/PTI.Myanmar’s military junta announced on Saturday afternoon that the death toll had climbed to 1,644 people and the number of injured was at over 3,400.The US Geological Service’s predictive modelling estimated that the death toll could surpass 10,000 people and that losses could exceed the country’s annual economic output.The earthquake occurred as Myanmar has been gripped by a civil war between its military dictatorship and a variety of rebel militias and pro-democracy forces.In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, locals gather near a collapsed building in the aftermath of an earthquake in Mandalay on Saturday. Photo: AP/PTI.When asked whether New Delhi – which has reportedly made official contact with the rebels even as it maintains cordial ties with the junta – has received requests for assistance from rebel-controlled areas, the MEA simply said it was coordinating relief operations with the military government.“… We are coordinating our rescue efforts, relief efforts through the government of Myanmar. That is where it is, and we will coordinate through them,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.Speaking during Saturday’s special briefing, Jaiswal said that the first Indian aircraft left at 3 am on Saturday and reached Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s purpose-built capital city, at around 8 am Indian time.It carried 15 tons of relief material – comprising tents, blankets, essential medicines, tarpaulin, sleeping bags, generators and other items – which was set to be distributed to earthquake-hit parts of Myanmar, he said.In this image posted by S. Jaishankar on X, NDRF personnel with humanitarian aid are seen in Myanmar after their arrival. Photo: PTI via X/@DrSJaishankar.Two other aircraft carrying search and rescue personnel and equipment as well as dogs had left or were in the process of leaving. Relief material aboard would be taken from Naypyidaw to Mandalay, which “has seen the maximum devastation”, Jaiswal added.Another pair of aircraft would carry a field hospital – a kind of mobile hospital that is used to give temporary care to casualties – comprising 118 specialists including doctors and medics, Jaiswal also said.The medical personnel will “have the ability to split into two or three smaller teams as and when required”, provide a “fully functional operational theatre” as well as X-ray and dental facilities, Brigadier H.S. Mavi of the Indian Army’s Directorate of Military Operations, who was also present at the briefing, said.Total aid sent by India to Myanmar by air and sea equals 137 tonnes, government sources said.Indian security personnel prepare a field hospital scheduled to travel to Myanmar. Photo: XPD Division of MEA.No casualties were reported from among Indian citizens living in Myanmar, said Jaiswal, who noted that there were between 50,000 and 60,000 Indian nationals in the country. The Indian community as a whole living in the country numbers at around 2 million, he also said.Explaining the rationale behind naming New Delhi’s humanitarian efforts ‘Operation Brahma’, Jaiswal noted that Brahma is a god of creation and that relief efforts meant to help “rebuild” Myanmar being named after the deity “has a special resonance” and “a special meaning”.It also happens that when speaking in parliament, Union home minister Amit Shah has referred to Myanmar as “Brahmadesh” (‘country of Brahma’).Earlier on Saturday Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to Myanmar’s military ruler, General Min Aung Hlaing.“Conveyed our deep condolences at the loss of lives in the devastating earthquake. As a close friend and neighbour, India stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar in this difficult hour. Disaster relief material, humanitarian assistance, search & rescue teams are being expeditiously dispatched to the affected areas as part of #OperationBrahma,” he wrote on X.This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows a collapsed air traffic control tower at the Naypyidaw International Airport after an earthquake struck there Saturday. Photo: AP/PTI.Min Aung Hlaing had issued an exceptionally rare appeal for international aid in light of the devastation caused by the earthquake. Previous military regimes in the country have shunned foreign assistance even after major natural disasters.However, rights activists are worried that even aid provided by other countries would not reach people on the ground. Authorities have, in the past, blocked relief to parts of the country under opposition control. “The junta’s response to Cyclone Mocha and Typhoon Yagi demonstrate its willingness to weaponise aid in the midst of natural disasters,’ UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Thomas Andrews said. He urged teaming up with the opposition National Unity Government, ethnic organisations and civil society groups to reach those in need.With inputs from DW.Originally published at 4:17 pm, this article was updated at 11:10 pm with further information.
