New Delhi: Twenty-one pilgrims from Tamil Nadu who had travelled to Nepal for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra have been rescued, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday, as Indian authorities continued efforts to locate nationals stranded in the flood-hit country.
The rescued pilgrims were part of groups affected by flooding in Nepal’s Rasuwa district. The MEA released their names in an update issued at 1 pm on August 27.
They were identified as Sivaranjani Muthunathan, Karpagam Rajamohan, Maran Govindasamy, Shanthi Maran, Muthukumaresan Ramalingam, Navu Kabirdoss, Vijayabhuvaneswari Viswanathan, Mythili Muthukumaresan, Thiyagarajan Rathinam, Kirubagari Balasubramaniyam, Vallinayaki Sivakumar, Sathiya Jayaraman, Thirumavalavan Govindarasu, Kanagasabai Natesapillai, Radhai Kanagasabai, Rathinakumar Kunchithapatham, Poonguzhali Ponnambalam, Pazhaniyappan Maickapermual, Kalaimathi Pazhaniyappan, Raghunathan Muniraj and Kanagasabai Natesa Pillai.
The MEA said 32 people had been reported missing in Nepal, while 61 Indians from other states remained untraceable. It also confirmed that a large group associated with Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation could not be contacted. Around 200 Indians on the Mansarovar pilgrimage are seeking assistance and evacuation, as reported by Moneycontrol.
India has dispatched two aircraft carrying relief supplies to Nepal. However, efforts to contact people in the affected region have been hampered as communication lines have been “totally disrupted”.
288 Indians Remain Uncontactable
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Indian officials were coordinating with Nepalese authorities to identify the missing and assist people stranded in flood-affected areas. The government has listed 288 Indian nationals as uncontactable, as reported by NDTV.
The group includes Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims, employees of the Trishuli 1 hydropower project and tourists from different parts of India. According to Jaiswal, 73 Indians working at the power project are among those currently out of contact. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu is communicating with the project head to obtain details about their whereabouts.
Two sizeable Tamil Nadu groups, consisting of 37 and 49 people, travelled to Nepal through Samrat Travels and Fly Everest Travels respectively. A separate group of 32 Indians from West Bengal, which travelled through Samrat Travels, was reportedly in Timure in Rasuwa when the flooding occurred.
The authorities are also unable to contact 61 Indians from different states who travelled through Richa Tours, along with 33 people from Kerala.
Control Room Set Up
The MEA has opened a dedicated control room to manage rescue and relief operations. Jaiswal said officials were working to restore contact and determine the status of those listed as uncontactable.
The ministry clarified that the designation does not automatically indicate that a person is missing or injured. It only means that authorities have not yet been able to establish communication with the individual.