102 Nagpur Pilgrims Stranded in Kathmandu Return Home Safely After Floods
The pilgrims travelled through Bihar by road and rail after floods disrupted their return from Nepal, while one member of the group remains hospitalised in Kathmandu.
NAGPUR, Aug 30: A group of 102 pilgrims from Nagpur who were stranded in Kathmandu following devastating flash floods in Nepal returned safely to Maharashtra on Sunday morning, bringing relief to their families, officials said.
The pilgrims had travelled to Nepal on August 19 to visit the Pashupatinath Temple and other religious sites. They remained in Kathmandu until August 27 after flash floods hit areas near the Nepal-Tibet border and disrupted travel arrangements.
While four other pilgrims from the Vidarbha region reached Nagpur by air on Saturday, the remaining 102 arrived at Nagpur Railway Station at around 4.30 am on Sunday.
Nagpur BJP president Dayashankar Tiwari was present at the railway station to welcome the returning pilgrims.
One of the pilgrims, Yogesh Gawande, said the group felt fortunate to have made it back to India amid the devastating situation in Nepal. The floods and related disasters have reportedly claimed at least 675 lives, while nearly 2,400 people remain missing.
Another pilgrim expressed gratitude to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for helping facilitate their return.
According to the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Office, Fadnavis remained in contact with Nepal MP Sandeep Rana and discussed arrangements for the safe evacuation of the stranded travellers.
The pilgrims began their return journey on August 28, travelling by bus from Kathmandu to Janakpur in Bihar. They reached Danapur the following day before travelling onward to Patna, where they boarded a train bound for Nagpur.
Pandit Sridhar Tripathi, who led the pilgrimage group, said one of the travellers, 72-year-old Nirmala Pandey, remains admitted to a hospital in Kathmandu after suffering a heart attack.
Pandey’s son, who is from Nagpur, has travelled to Kathmandu and is staying with her, Tripathi said.
The safe arrival of the group brought considerable relief to relatives who had been anxiously awaiting their return following the floods.
Four other Vidarbha pilgrims Indira Chaudhary, 65, Sulochna Khapre of Wardha, and Deepak Pande and Varsha Upadhyay of Hinganghat had already reached Nagpur on Saturday morning.
The four were among the pilgrims who had travelled to Nepal for a visit to the Pashupatinath Temple and other pilgrimage destinations.
They flew from Kathmandu to Delhi on August 28 and subsequently travelled from the national capital to Nagpur aboard the Kerala Express, reaching the city on Saturday morning.
