Chennai: Sick and stranded pilgrims in Nepal were left to fend for themselves as Indian helicopters pressed into rescue services in Nepal could only airlift a few dead bodies out, an eyewitness said on a long-distance phone call.
“We were told it would be unwise and risky to attempt lifting us by the helicopters due to the terrible weather conditions there. There was no such risk involved in flying out the dead bodies. With the weather improving subsequently, gradually, we were able to find a few cars to hire and drive out from that watery hell,” said Deenadayalan, who along with his wife Anita and 23 others from Tamil Nadu were stranded in Simikot.
They had embarked on the Kailash-Mansarovar yatra on June 24 and the darshan had been completed by June 26, when heavy rains hit.
“We hope to reach Lucknow tomorrow and take the night flight to Chennai. I cannot tell you how relieved and glad I am heading home from sure death,” he said.
“The state and central governments were only aware of our situation after the media reported it, even then, nobody tried to contact us,” he added.
Ex-Congress MLA Gayatri Devi says the number of stranded Indian pilgrims is heavily understated. “There are at least 300 Tamilians where I am in Hilsa. In areas such as Simikot and Nepalgunj there will surely be at least 750,” she estimated.
She had traveled to Kailash for a full-moon darshan on June 28 and has been stranded with a group of 24 people since. She has been in touch with the first secretary of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu who has been trying to help, she says.
The casualties are also underreported. “The bodies of four Indians, who I believe hailed from Vijayawada and Karnataka were airlifted this afternoon,” she said.
The situation in Hilsa, which is on the India-China border is relatively better, she said, and that commercial flights were chartered to depart to India with the stranded pilgrims tomorrow.
