Over 1,500 Indian pilgrims who are undertaking the Kailash-Mansarovar yatra are stranded in Nepal owing to the heavy rain and bad weather. The Indian embassy in Kathmandu is looking into the situation, especially the track of Simikot. Out of the people who are stranded almost 290 of them belong to Karnataka.
“We have requested Government of Nepal for army helicopters to evacuate stranded Indian nationals. /4 #IndiansStrandedInNepal,” Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted in the morning of 3rd July
In a series of tweets, Sushma Swaraj, said India has set up hotlines for pilgrims and their family members who will be provided information in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages.
The pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibetan region of China is considered holy by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. Every year, hundreds of Indians undertake the ‘yatra’ which involves trekking under inhospitable conditions.
Several sources have stated that the Indian Embassy in Nepal have asked all tour operators to try and hold pilgrims back in Tibet side as far as possible since the medical and civic facilities on Nepal side are inadequate. They said the mission is looking at various alternatives to evacuate the stranded people from Simikot, including through separate routes.
Mission coordinators are also trying to prevent any more influx of pilgrims into the Nepali side from Tibet to keep the number of pilgrims within manageable range. Increase in the number of pilgrims could create problem of accommodation and safety.
The Karnataka government said all the pilgrims from the state are safe. Chandrababu Naidu has also asked officials from his government to help the pilgrims from the state who are stranded in Simikot. The state government officials has spoken to a few stranded pilgrims to ensure their welfare.
The Embassy is also looking at various alternatives to evacuate people from Simikot, including searching for alternative routes. All these routes, however, appear to be as difficult as Simikot-Nepalganj. There are also efforts to press in the services of Nepal Army helicopters, which can operate over difficult terrain.