PETALING JAYA: The team of volunteers from United Sikhs Malaysia have begun making way towards ground zero of the Nepal-China floods.
United Sikhs Malaysia vice-president Mandeep Singh said the journey is expected to take 10 to 12 hours, depending on road and traffic conditions.
They will be setting up base camp at Dhunche.
“Here, goods will be offloaded, and we will then plan the journey to Syapru Besi in the Rusawa district. It is also the second-to-last town affected after Gyirong,” he said from Nepal on Sunday (Sept 6).
He added that there is only off-road access from base camp, noting that Syapru Besi is about 40km before the Tibet border.
“We plan to serve the area for two to three days before moving to the next location. A ground assessment will also be carried out for additional items,” he said.
Among the items they will be serving are tarpaulins, built temporary shelters, mosquito nets, and children's colouring items and sanitary pads.
Mandeep added that their team - Team A - is scheduled to leave Nepal on Sept 12.
“Realistically, we have only about five solid days on the ground after accounting for travel both ways.
“Given the road conditions, we may also need to leave ground zero a day earlier to return to Kathmandu, as many drivers are not comfortable with travelling early in the day,” he said.
He said they are also proposing that Team B of their volunteers arrive by Sept 10 or 11, at the latest, to ensure a proper handover and maintain mission continuity.
Mandeep and his team had arrived in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on Saturday (Sept 5).
As of Sept 4, 1,294 people had died, and 5,053 remained missing, while more than 13,000 people had been rescued.
