Nepal mourns plane crash in India
By IANSSunday, May 23, 2010
KATHMANDU - Despite facing a constitutional crisis and chaos less than a week away, Nepal’s top political leadership took cognizance of the air crash in India Saturday that killed 158 people and expressed grief.
President Ram Baran Yadav, who could be the key authority from May 28 midnight when the government runs the risk of getting dissolved, sent a message to his Indian counterpart, Pratibha Patil.
He expressed “profound shock and sadness” and extended “heart-felt condolences and sympathies”.
Embattled Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who is resisting a call for his resignation by the opposition Maoist party, also sent a condolence message to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala, who is also the foreign minister, sent a condolence message to the Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.
Tens of thousands of Nepalis work both in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India and shuttle between the two countries as well as their home.
Nepal’s ambassador to the UAE, Arjun Bahadur Thapa, said as there were direct flights connecting Dubai and Kathmandu, there were no Nepalis on the ill-fated flight.
The Indian air disaster made it to the front page of Nepal’s newspapers Sunday.
