Nearly 60 Maharashtra Tourists Untraceable After Nepal Flood
Officials said 325 tourists from Maharashtra have been contacted by their relatives or government agencies and confirmed safe.
Mumbai:Around 395 tourists from Maharashtra are stranded in Nepal following devastating floods in the country, with nearly 60 currently untraceable, officials said on Friday. Most of those reported missing are from Mumbai, Thane and Pune.
Officials said 325 tourists from Maharashtra have been contacted by their relatives or government agencies and confirmed safe. Of these, 106 have already left Nepal for Nagpur.
Among those currently untraceable are 60 pilgrims undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Another 10 people who had been contacted by officials are currently unreachable due to network disruptions, officials said.
Efforts are underway to establish contact with the untraceable tourists amid severe communication disruptions in flood-hit areas along the Nepal-Tibet border.
A senior official said the State Disaster Management Unit (DMU) of the Relief and Rehabilitation Department is collecting information from 13 tour operators, including Richa Travels, as well as from relatives of tourists seeking assistance.
“We have compiled the data of 395 persons so far. This data has been shared with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The data of the tourists keeps changing every hour as people continue to contact us. At times, we also receive leads from other agencies,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said 37 pilgrims stranded at Saga in Tibet while returning from the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra have begun their journey to Kathmandu. A CMO official said the 37 pilgrims had undertaken the pilgrimage along with Pramod Kene of Jai Girnari Trust, Alibag. The pilgrims are from Thane, Pune, Alibag, Raigad and Dombivli.
“They were stranded at Saga while returning from the pilgrimage. As their return flight from Kathmandu was scheduled for 2 pm on August 29, they needed to reach the capital of Nepal on time,” the official said.
Nitin Shirke and Rakesh Jitekar, members of the group, informed BJP state president Ravindra Chavan about their situation in Saga. Mr. Chavan subsequently apprised the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the matter.
After receiving the information, Mr Fadnavis directed the authorities to take necessary steps to assist the stranded pilgrims. The state government subsequently coordinated with the MEA, which extended assistance and cooperation, the CMO said. “All 37 pilgrims have safely begun their journey from Saga to Kathmandu,” the official said.
According to the CMO, 106 people from Nagpur district have arrived in Sitamarhi, Bihar, where the Bihar Chief Minister’s Office has arranged accommodation and meals for them. “The Maharashtra government and the CMO are in constant touch with them. The group is scheduled to leave for Nagpur from Patna by train tomorrow. The office of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is also extending assistance to them,” the CMO said.
