Bhubaneswar: As many as 23 pilgrims from Jajpur district, who were stranded in Nepal because of largescale violence in the Himalayan country, have been rescued and brought back to India following swift action by the Odisha government.
An official statement said on Thursday that 23 pilgrims from Odisha had gone on a visit to Nepal but got stranded in a hotel in Kathmandu and due to the volatile situation.
Within five hours of the incident coming to light, the Directorate of Odisha Paribar under the Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture, the Office of the Chief Resident Commissioner in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs, Embassy of India in Kathmandu, and Ambassador of India to Romania, Manoj Kumar Mahapatra, made joint efforts to bring back all 23 Odia pilgrims India.
Officials said that all the Odia pilgrims have returned to India safely.
Sources said the stranded tourists had requested the district administration and the Odisha government to take steps for their rescue and return from Nepal. All of them had gone to visit Pashupatinath and some other tourist attractions.
The 23 Odia tourists are – Ajay Kumar Panda, Mamina Panda, Pankaj Kumar Dhal, Bharat Kumar Swain, Kamini Swain, Sharda Prasanna Kar, Rima Kar, Manoj Kumar Mishra, Suren Dalai, Viren Dalai, Parsuram Dalai, Purnachandra Dalai, Prasannajit Dalai, Brajkishore Mishra, Lopamudra Mishra, Shreyan Saurabh Mishra, Santosh Kumar Pani, Sasmita Pani, Bagmipriya Pani, Pramod Kumar Mishra, Rajshree Mishra, Baishnab Sahu and Suresh Chandra Sahu.
