New Delhi, April 25 (IANS): Aiming to lend a helping hand to the people affected by the massive earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday, telecom service providers in India have slashed their call rates or made it free.

"As a small gesture during this hour of crisis, we have decided to offer all calls on the Airtel network from India to Nepal completely free of cost for the next 48 hours effective (Saturday) midnight, thus enabling customers across the country get in touch with their families and friends in Nepal," Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

State-run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited said in a statement: "BSNL announces to allow all calls to Nepal from its network (landline and mobile) as local calls for three days with effect from April 25, 2015 as a relief measure at a juncture of disaster occurred due to earthquake in Nepal."

BSNL chairman-cum-managing director Anupam Shrivastava said that due to the earthquake in Nepal, there has been heavy loss of life, and damage to buildings and infrastructure.

"This BSNL move will help many people of Nepal who are living in India to know about their relatives in Nepal at local call rates at this juncture. It will also be helpful for Indian citizens whose relatives are in Nepal as tourists. They can contact them from BSNL network at local call rate," he said.