The Indian embassy in Kathmandu has reached out to hundreds of Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims, who are stranded on the Nepal-China border for the last few days in heavy rain. One woman from Kerala is reported dead owing to high altitude-related sickness.
India has asked Nepal for military helicopters to evacuate the stranded nationals amidst heavy downpour, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday.
“We have set up hotlines for pilgrims and family members who will provide information in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages. We have requested government of Nepal for army helicopters to evacuate stranded Indian nationals,” Ms. Swaraj tweeted.
However, an official explained that the pilgrims are not facing any immediate danger to physical safety but are unlikely to be evacuated soon due to inclement weather.
An official source said they are staying in locally arranged accommodations, waiting for the weather to clear.
“Embassy of India in Kathmandu is in touch with the pilgrims. They are waiting on the evacuation routes but will have to wait till weather improves. Relief and medical facilities are being supplied to them," said the official.
The pilgrims are stranded in Simikot in the high Himalayas that has to be crossed before entering into the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China.
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.
Death due to high altitude-related sickness
Union Minister of State for Tourism K.J. Alphons told reporters in Kozhikode that Leela Namboodiripad from Mallapuram, Kerala, died due to respiratory problems on Monday morning. He had discussed the issue with the Union Home Minister, he said, adding that other pilgrims were safe.
As per the latest information available with the mission, there were about 525 pilgrims stranded in Simikot, 550 in Hilsa and 500 in the Tibet side.
The mission had placed its representatives in Nepalganj and Simikot and they were personally in touch with each and every pilgrim. They were ensuring that proper food and lodging facilities were available to all the pilgrims.
“[They] are personally in touch with each and every stranded pilgrim. The representatives are ensuring that proper food and lodging facilities are available to all the pilgrims,” said a source.
In view of the worsening health condition of the elderly citizens, the embassy in Kathmandu has made medical arrangements as well.
“The mission representative in Simikot has pressed in service of available medical practitioner in Simikot to get a health check up done for all elderly pilgrims. In case of any medical complication, they are being given preventive medication and medical counselling of dos and don’ts,” the source said.
Lack of road network
The pilgrimage through Simikot is arduous due to lack of proper road network and the pilgrims have to depend on air service which can operate only in clear weather. As of July 3, the Indian embassy in Kathmandu is looking at various routes of evacuating the people from Simikot.
“Mission is looking at various alternatives of evacuating people from Simikot, including searching for alternative routes. All these routes however appear to be as difficult as Simikot-Nepalganj. The mission is trying to press in services of Nepal Army helicopters, which have superior abilities of operating in difficult terrain,” the official informed the media reflecting the minister’s announcement.
The police authorities have been requested to take care of all the pilgrims and ensure best possible assistance to them. The mission was setting up a hot line for pilgrims and their family members:
Helpline numbers
Following are the authorities and the helpline numbers:
Pranav Ganesh, First Secretary (Consular) - +977-9851107006
Tashi Khampa, Second Secretary (Consular) - +977-9851155007
Tarun Raheja, Attache (Consular) - +977-9851107021
Rajesh Jha, Aso (Community Welfare) - +977-9818832398, +977-9851165140
Yogananda (Hotline – Kannada) - +977-9823672371
Pindi Naresh (Hotline – Telugu) - +977-9808082292
R. Murugan (Hotline – Tamil) - +977-9808500642
C. Ranjith (Hotline – Malayalam) - +977-9808500644
