1,500 Mansarovar pilgrims stranded, rescue ops begin

New Delhi: Over a thousand Indian pilgrims who are undertaking Kailash Mansarovar yatra to Tibet (China) were stranded in Nepal and Tibet due to bad weather. Nearly 150 Indian pilgrims were evacuated on Tuesday and rescue work intensified after India sought assistance from Kathmandu.

Two Indian pilgrims also died — one from possible high-altitude sickness and the other from a heart attack. Many of the stranded pilgrims are from southern India, said the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern and asked officials to extend all possible assistance while external affairs minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj  tweeted about evacuation efforts, giving details of those stranded.

“PM @narendramodi is in touch with MEA and other top officials regarding the wellbeing of Indian pilgrims stranded in Nepal. He has asked officials to extend all possible assistance to those affected. The Indian embassy in Nepal is working on the ground and assisting the pilgrims,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a tweet. The Indian emba-ssy in Kathmandu, in a statement, said, “The mission, in liaison with local airport authorities and flight operators, operated nine commercial flights vide which 158 pilgrims were evacuated from Simikot to Nepalganj, which is a fairly big city with all modern facilities and three hours road connectivity to Lucknow.”

Two pilgrims — Leela Narayanan Mandredath, 56, of Kerala and Satya Laxmi of Andhra Pradesh  — have died due to high altitude sickness in Simikot and heart attack in Tibet, respectively, the Indian embassy said.

The pilgrim from Kerala had died on Monday and the one from Andhra died on Tuesday.

Their bodies were brought by special helicopters to Kathmandu and Nepalganj respectively, it said in a statement, adding that it remains “confident” that all Indians would be evacuated over the next three-four days in case the weather continues to improve. In a series of tweets earlier in the day, Ms Swaraj said, “Indian pilgrims stranded in Nepal - There are about 525 pilgrims stranded in Simikot, 550 in Hilsa and another 500 in Tibet side. The 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.”

 “We have requested the government of Nepal for Army helicopters to evacuate stranded Indian nationals. We have set up hotlines for pilgrims and their family members who will provide information in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages,” she said

The Indian Embassy, in an update on Tuesday evening, said, The Mission is already in touch with Nepal Army, which has kept a helicopter in state of readiness to operate as and when weather improves.”

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. In May, the MEA selected over 1,500 pilgrims through a draw of lots for the 120 km pilgrimage.