Nearly 100 buses of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation are queued up at the bus stand, and luggage is being loaded on them, batch by batch.

A first batch of five buses, carrying hundreds of Indians, left for Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday morning. Another batch would leave for Bihar in the afternoon, said Indian envoy in Nepal, Ranjit Rae, who was at the bus depot to supervise the evacuation.

"Since air evacuation is limited, we have arranged for the buses. The priority is to facilitate the return of tourists, women, children and the elderly," Mr Rae said.

The bus service is being run free of charge.

Thousands of people are still waiting anxiously to board one of the home-bound buses, some squatting at the depot, others standing restlessly. "I have been waiting since morning. We are told that a bus will leave soon," said a man.

India is carrying out a massive relief and rescue operation in Nepal, where over 4300 people have died and thousands have been injured in Saturday's powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake.

The bus service supplements the evacuations being done on military aircraft, helicopters and commercial flights being operated between the two neighbours. There are thousands of Indians still in Nepal; over 2500 have been brought back since Saturday.

India has rushed relief material including blankets, food and water packets and medical teams. It has deployed more than 15 military aircraft in Nepal.

Earlier today one convoy comprising of 5000 blankets, 500 tents, 50 tarpaulin and 800 plastic sheets left for Pokhra from Kanpur.