Bhubaneswar: Amid stepped up efforts to locate people from Odisha in flood-ravaged Nepal, several travellers from the state have been traced, while an Australia-based couple from the state still remained missing.
Twenty members of a group of athletes from the state who had travelled to the Himalayan nation for an international sports carnival, remained safe in Pokhara, as the place is around 230 km from the area where the disaster occurred.
The group, which included footballers and taekwondoins from Bhubaneswar and other parts of Odisha, had reached Nepal on Wednesday to participate in the Indo-Nepal International Sports Carnival. They are safe and staying under the care of their coaches Md Ataul Halim, who is accompanying the football team, and Pratap Majhi and Jasmine Parida, who are with the taekwondo players.
Their phones were unreachable for hours, raising concern among relatives. However, the coach later confirmed to the Odisha government that all members are safe and staying in a hotel in Pokhara, nearly 300 km away from the flood ravaged region. The scheduled match has been postponed.
Meanwhile, three friends from Puri — Rakesh Ranjan Panda and two companions — who were stranded in Nepal have safely crossed the border via Kapilvastu and entered India through the Raxaul check post. Their safe return has brought relief to anxious families.
However, Sandeep Mohapatra and Sidharthi Kumari, the couple from Khordha who have settled in Melbourne in Australia, continue to remain untraceable.
Pritish Panda, the nodal officer appointed by the Odisha government to assist people from Odisha stranded in Nepal, said the couple’s last GPS location was traced near the immigration counter at Timure, in the Nepal-Tibet border which suffered the worst devastation. The tour guide accompanying the couple is also untraceable.
Notably, the Odisha government has opened a 24 hour control room at Odisha Bhavan, New Delhi, to provide assistance to Odias in distress.
The office of the Chief Resident Commissioner announced that any individual requiring help can contact the control room through the following numbers:
+91 7428135044
+91 8527580245
+91 11 23012807 (landline)
Additionally, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has issued emergency helplines for Indian nationals in Nepal:
+977 9851316807
+977 9709107500
These numbers are also available on WhatsApp for quick communication.
Officials said the control room will coordinate with the MEA and Nepalese authorities to ensure timely support, including evacuation, relief, and information sharing for Odias stranded in flood hit regions.
Meanwhile, Kulsum Nigar of Baripada in Mayurbhanj district, who had been to Nepal with a trekking team and gone missing since Tuesday, has contacted her family and informed them about being safe.
