53 Keralites Stranded in Nepal Following Devastating Floods: NORKA Roots

Thiruvananthapuram: As many as 53 Keralites, including children, are stranded in Nepal following devastating floods, NORKA Roots said on Thursday. NORKA Roots is the Keralam government agency that coordinates overseas affairs and welfare services for non-resident Keralites.

Addressing a press conference, NORKA Roots CEO Rajesh Madhavan said 17 sets of information regarding stranded Keralites had been received through the Chief Minister's Office and the Chief Secretary's Office and collated by around 3 am on Thursday.

"From that, we identified around 53 Keralites, including family members, adults and children," he said.

Though NORKA Roots has contact numbers of all 53 people, it is currently unable to establish direct contact with them due to network issues, Madhavan said.

Apart from the 53 people, another group of 36 people from Kanhangad in Kasaragod and a 16-member group from Kottayam are safe, as they had travelled to other parts of Nepal and were contacted, Madhavan said.

He said NORKA Roots Development Officer in Delhi, is coordinating the efforts and had been in touch with the Resident Commissioner's Office and was directly passing information to the Indian Embassy.

The next step was to identify the last known locations of the stranded people, Madhavan said.

"We re-contacted the family members who had reached out to us to confirm details. We collected the latest updates available, such as whether they had called recently or mentioned travelling to a specific location," he said.

These details have been shared with the concerned authorities to help pinpoint their last known locations, he said.

"Once that is secured, we hope to establish direct contact and gather complete information," Madhavan said.

He said no new calls regarding stranded Keralites had been received after the 53 people were identified.

"We haven't been able to establish direct contact yet, but we have a general understanding that they are safe," he said.

He said the 53 people had travelled to Nepal in different ways, with some going as organised tour groups and others as families on vacation.

"We don't have an exact database of everyone because many individuals haven't updated or renewed their registrations with us, making it difficult to rely entirely on official records," he said.

The figure of 53 was arrived at after cross-checking information received from multiple sources and eliminating duplicate entries, he said.

"As of now, there is no reason for panic based on the details received so far. We have not heard of any casualties or severe distress among them, so we presume they are safe," Madhavan said.

He said the affected areas were experiencing disruptions to normal communication and other systems following the disaster.

International reports indicated that the local military had been deployed on the ground and assistance from the Government of India was reaching the affected region, he said.

"Therefore, we understand that the overall situation is coming under control," Madhavan said.

Meanwhile, Trikaripur MLA Sandeep G Varier said in a Facebook post that a group of tourists, including people from his constituency in Kasaragod district who had travelled to Nepal, reached a safe shelter around 2.30 am on Thursday.

He said the group has return tickets for August 29 and the state government has assured that all necessary assistance would be provided to them under any circumstances.

The state government has been in constant contact with the tourists, he said.

"Even last night, the Chief Minister's Office spoke to me as well as those stranded in Nepal," Varier added.