Over 1,000 Kailash Manasarovar pilgrims from India stranded in Nepal due to bad weather; almost 300 from Karnataka

Over 1,000 Indian pilgrims undertaking the Kailash-Mansarovar yatra are stranded in Nepal due to heavy rains and bad weather but are safe, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said. The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu is monitoring the situation along the route in Simikot, 423 kilometres from capital Kathmandu, NDTV  reported. Out of the stranded Indians, 290 are from Karnataka, the report said. The pilgrims were stranded in the mountainous regions of Simikot in Nepal after all flights to and from the region were cancelled due to bad weather conditions. Swaraj, meanwhile, reaffirmed on Tuesday that the ministry has requested the Nepal government for army helicopters to evacuate the stranded Indian nationals.

“Indian Embassy in Nepal has deployed representatives in Nepalganj and Simikot. They are touch with the pilgrims and ensuring that food and lodging facilities are available to all the pilgrims,” Swaraj tweeted . “In Simikot, a health check up has been done on all the elderly pilgrims. They are being provided required medical help. In Hilsa, we have requested police authorities for necessary assistance. We have set up hotlines for pilgrims and their family members who will provide information in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages,” she added . [caption id=“attachment_3763105” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. News18 Hindi[/caption] According to a report in The Tribune , Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy directed the Resident Commissioner of Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi to take all necessary action immediately to ensure the safety of the pilgrims. Accordingly, the Commissioner held discussions with the officials of the Indian embassy in Kathmandu and the Nepal government, an official release quoted by the report said. According to a report in The New Indian Express , 56-year-old Leela Namboodiripad died of cardiac arrest in Nepal on Monday, a day after their flight was cancelled. “The cardiac arrest is said to be because of the low oxygen levels. We were supposed to leave from here yesterday but were unable to do so because all flights have been cancelled,” Sethu Mahadevan, Leela’s husband, was quoted by the report as saying.