The four-member Tamil Nadu ministerial team formed by chief minister C Joseph Vijay met in New Delhi on Friday to monitor the measures taken to bring back over 80 people from the state who remain stranded following the flash flood at the Nepal-China border on Wednesday.
Tamil Nadu public works minister Aadhav Arjuna, school education minister Rajmohan, agriculture minister Vinoth, and minister for non-resident Tamils welfare Thennarasu met officials at the control room set up at the Tamil Nadu house in the capital to take stock of the ongoing measures. As many as 83 pilgrims, mostly women, from Tamil Nadu and three from Puducherry remained unreachable in Nepal on Thursday, said Tamil Nadu minister A Rajmohan. At least 21 Tamil Nadu residents rescued so far from flood-affected areas have reached Kathmandu, the external affairs ministry (MEA) said. In an announcement made in the state assembly on Thursday, Rajmohan said 106 pilgrims, including three from Puducherry, had gone to Nepal for the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in multiple groups. As many as 21 of them have been rescued and taken to safer locations near Kathmandu by the Army. However, the whereabouts of the remaining 86 was not known, the minister for school education A Rajmohan said in the Assembly on Thursday.
“Currently, 86 of them could not be traced due to the flash floods in Nepal,” he said.
To aid the Tamils seeking assistance, the Tamil Nadu government has set up a 24/7 control room at the Tamil Nadu House in Delhi and people requiring assistance may contact the phone 92895 16712. Overseas persons can give a missed call to +91 80 6900 9900 and can also contact +91 80 6900 9901, an official release said.
