CHENNAI: As many as 21 tourists of the total 57 from Tamil Nadu were safe and currently stranded about 160 km north of Kathmandu due to the flash floods in Rasuwa region in Nepal even as Tamil Nadu government stepped up efforts to rescue them, sources said.
Samrat Tours and Travels in Kumbakonam 36 women and 21 women hailing from Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai left for Nepal on August 24 for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra via Kathmandu, according to the travel operator Syed Umar Farooq. The 57 member group was scheduled to travel to Nepal border on Wednesday when the tragedy struck, he said, who has been conducting such tours for more than 20 years in Kumbakonam.
Tamil Nadu minister for hindu religious and charitable endowments Ramesh spoke to the travel operator and informed him that all necessary steps are being taken by the government to safely bring back the stranded pilgrims. Meanwhile, former chief minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami urged the Central government to expedite the rescue operations in coordination with the Government of Nepal and the Tamil Nadu government to to ensure proper coordination and seamless flow of information.
Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay said he has instructed senior officials of the state government to take all the necessary measures to swiftly rescue those hailing from Tamil Nadu missing in this disaster and to provide all required assistance to those affected. Further more, the chief minister said, steps are being expedited to gather information about the people from Tamil Nadu through the Ministry of External Affairs of India and the Indian Embassy in Nepal ensuring their safety. Communisty Party of India (Marxist) P Shanmugam said, “On behalf of the CPI(M), we urge the government of Tamil Nadu to take all necessary measures with a sense of urgency to bring back all the stranded Tamils,” he said.
