Brief note on the 25 April 2015 earthquake in Nepal and its effect on Indigenous Population Information sourced out from various sources, Ministry of Home Affairs, daily situation reports of un.org.np, newspaper, websites, etc. Out of 75 districts, 30 districts in Nepal have been affected with the earthquake on 25 April 2015. The hard hit districts are Gorkha (epicenter of the earthquake), Lamjung (initially reported as the epicenter), Dhadhing, Rasuwa, Sindhupalchowk, Kavre, Nuwakot, Dolakha, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Ramechhap. All of these districts are populated by various indigenous groups. There has been no verified information received so far on the actual number of casualties and the situation in Lamjung despite of it being the epicenter of the earthquake. Lamjung has a high population of Gurungs. Two villages of Gorkha, Barpark and Larpark have been totally flattened out. While the initiatives for Barpark seem to have started, nothing has been possible for Larpark since the relief helicopters could not land. The pictures shared in tweets show totally flattened out entire village and the badly damaged hills. Larpark is notably a Gurung village. Baburam Bhattarai, former PM of Nepal has pointed out for the need of small helicopters to operate in this area to that of large ones currently deployed by the Indian Army. Very less is known about Rasuwa and Lamjung. The helicopter survey shows all washed out village and completely ruined Langtang National park where the number of trekkers are either stranded or not have survived. Exact number of casualties is not verified and known. This district is home to Tamang, Gurungs and Sherpa indigenous community. As of 4 May afternoon, the official information on the death as twitted by the Earthquake-Nepal (twitter handle of Ministry of Home Affairs) is reported to be 7365 dead and 14366 injured. Disaggregated data is unavailable since 28 April 2015. Till then the available district wise data has ben as follows: 875 deaths and 279 injured in Sindhupalchowk. Sindhupalchowk has population of Tamang, Majhi, Sherpa, Thami, Hyolmo, and Newars. In Dolakha, 808 deaths and 2400. Around 300 yarshagumba pickers are reportedly missing in the upper Dolakha valley. Dolakha has the population of Surel, Jirel, Thami groups. Kathmandu has 808 deaths and 2400 injuries, while in Bhaktapur there has been equal number of 232 deaths and injuries. There has been no information on the death/injuries or the situation report on other districts. The media and the citizens-led relief initiatives seem to be concentrating on Kathmandu and Gorkha. The earthquake has destroyed the four important UNESCO cultural heritage sites of Nepal which was important historical record of the Indigenous population in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. They used to hold significant role in the practice of cultural rituals too. Nepal Government has announced the relief of NPR40,000/- per dead member to the family.
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