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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed his grief over the loss of lives and properties due to the earthquake in Nepal.

He said that India stands in solidarity with the people of Nepal and is ready to extend all possible assistance.

“Our thoughts are with the bereaved families and we wish the injured a quick recovery,” the Indian Prime Minister said.

The death toll has risen to 128 after an earthquake measuring 6.4 in the Richter scale jolted west Nepal on Friday night.

Deeply saddened by loss of lives and damage due to the earthquake in Nepal. India stands in solidarity with the people of Nepal and is ready to extend all possible assistance. Our thoughts are with the bereaved families and we wish the injured a quick recovery. @cmprachanda

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 4, 2023

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has left for the earthquake-affected areas with health workers and essential supplies.

The Prime Minister has left for the quake-hit areas with a medical team including 16 members of the Nepali Army and necessary materials for the rescue, search and relief of the earthquake survivors, according to the Prime Minister's Press Advisor Govinda Acharya.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet and former Finance Minister Janardan Sharma have also gone to the affected areas to coordinate rescue and relief efforts. Minister Basnet is an MP elected from Jajarkot and Sharma from Rukum West.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dahal has said that he is deeply saddened by the loss of human lives and physical property in the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that took place at 11:47 pm on Friday with its epicenter at Ramidanda of Jajarkot.

Appealing to everyone concerned to help with the rescue and relief efforts, Prime Minister Dahal has said that all the three security agencies have been mobilized for the immediate search and rescue of those injured in the quake.

According to the Prime Minister's Secretariat, additional security personnel from all three agencies from neighboring districts including Surkhet have been mobilized in search and rescue of the quake survivors.

Nepal government and the World Bank today exchanged the digitally-signed financing agreements for a $100m concessional loan from the International Development Association and a $3.84m grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund to strengthen the quality, coverage, and resilience of Nepal’s health system. 

These agreements were digitally signed on 27 Oct 2023. This is the first World Bank-financed project in Nepal that was digitally signed. The agreements for the Nepal Quality Health Systems Program Operation were signed by Finance Secretary, Krishna Hari Pushkar and the World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, Faris Hadad-Zervos.

The agreements were exchanged in the presence of Honorable Minister of Finance, Prakash Sharan Mahat, World Bank Managing Director for Operations, Anna Bjerde, and World Bank Vice-president for South Asia, Martin Raiser. The program will be implemented by the Ministry of Health and Population in coordination with the Health Insurance Board at the federal level, and selected provincial and local levels in Koshi and Gandaki provinces.

The program emphasizes improving the readiness of the health system for delivery of quality healthcare, enhancing coverage of health insurance, and strengthening health emergency preparedness and response capacity at the selected provincial and local levels.

“Quality healthcare serves as the cornerstone of human capital development. The comprehensive reform agenda set forth by the Nepal Quality Health Systems Program Operation will be pivotal in enhancing access to high-quality healthcare services,” said Krishna Hari Pushkar, Finance Secretary.

“We are committed to work with the government to build a resilient and inclusive public health system in Nepal that protects vulnerable populations and contributes to improved productivity and strong human capital development, which is fundamental to sustainable economic growth,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Police on Thursday arrested Yograj Dhakal Regal, a convict who had been serving a 20-year term in a murder case, from Setu BK Chowk in Nepalgunj after the Supreme Court revoked the presidential pardon granted to him, ordering his re-arrest and imprisonment. Regal is now in the custody of the Banke district police office. 

A full bench of judges Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada, Sapana Malla Pradhan and Kumar Chudal overruled the leniency granted to Regal, arguing that the decision to spare Regal the rest of his jail term was in violation of the rights of his victims and ordering government authorities to send him to prison immediately for serving the rest of his term.

President Ramchandra Paudel, acting on a recommendation from the Council of Ministers, had pardoned Regal on the occasion of the Constitution Day, sparing him the remaining term of 11 years, 11 months and five days.

Bharati Sherpa, wife of Chetan Manandhar, the murder victim, had objected to the presidential pardon and moved the apex court stating that the release was against the Constitution.   

The Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, Ministry of Home Affairs and the District Administration Office, Banke were made the defendants in the case.

Subsequently, the apex court had ordered the government to furnish written clarifications regarding its decision to grant amnesty to Dhakal

The court had ordered the authorities to submit to it the copies of all relevant decisions related to the case and ordered the Attorney-General to appear before the court in person on the day of the hearing.

A gangster and the then president of Tarun Dal Banke-3, Regal used to extort transporters operating Nepal-India bus services. On 24 April 2018, a bench of Banke district court judge Bishnu Subedi had convicted Regal as the mastermind behind the 13 July 2015 murder of Manandhar at a hotel in Surkhet Road area and sentenced him to 20 years behind bars.

Regal, at large after the murder, had surrendered before the court after police launched a series of encounters against gangsters.

The SC judgment against the presidential pardon states that consent of the victims’ side must also be taken while granting presidential pardons in accordance with relevant laws.

Meanwhile, Chetan’s wife Bharati, who had been staging a hunger strike at Maitighar Mandala since October 4 against the pardon, broke her fast after the court verdict. Bharati said she was grateful to the court for delivering justice.