Patna: Nearly 100 pilgrims from Maharashtra who were unable to leave Kathmandu after flash floods in Nepal were brought to Bihar and put on a train to their home state, officials said on Saturday, PTI reported.
The Bihar Disaster Management Department said it had stepped in after receiving a request from the Maharashtra government for assistance in bringing the stranded group back.
“Acting on the direction of Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, the Sitamarhi district administration brought the pilgrims safely from the Nepal border to Sitamarhi on Friday,” the department said in a statement.
The operation was carried out under the oversight of Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit and Disaster Management Department Principal Secretary Santosh Kumar Mall.
After the pilgrims reached Sitamarhi, the district authorities provided them with food, drinking water and other basic facilities.
Officials did not have immediate information about the purpose of the group’s Nepal visit. It was also not known whether the pilgrims had gone to Kathmandu to offer prayers at the Pashupatinath temple or to visit other shrines in the country.
The group arrived in Patna at about 2.30 am on Saturday and was taken to a community hall. The authorities arranged meals, medical examinations and other forms of assistance for them, the statement said.
The Bihar government subsequently made arrangements for the pilgrims’ train journey to Maharashtra. Two additional coaches were attached to the Patna–Purna Express after the Bihar chief secretary spoke to the chairman of the Railway Board, according to the statement.
The pilgrims boarded the train and began their journey at around 7.30 am, an official said.
They thanked Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and the administrations of Sitamarhi and Patna for acting swiftly and coordinating the arrangements for their return.
Several pilgrims also tied rakhis to officials of the railways and the state government who were involved in helping them, the official said.