28 Andhra Pradesh pilgrims return safely after Nepal flash floods during Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

Twenty-eight Andhra Pradesh pilgrims undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra safely returned after narrowly escaping flash floods in Nepal. Pilgrims said a delay in obtaining Chinese visas helped them avoid the worst-hit area, while several people remain missing in the floods

Tirupati: A total of 28 pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh who travelled to Nepal for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra have safely returned after completing their pilgrimage, following a tense encounter with flash floods during their journey.

P Venkatramana, managing director of a Tirupati-based private travel agency, said the group had travelled from India to Kathmandu and had to wait for around three days due to a delay in obtaining Chinese visas.

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“Reached Tirupati safely. Thank you to everyone who enquired about our well-being and expressed concern for our safety,” Venkatramana told PTI Videos on Saturday.

The pilgrims left Kathmandu at around 6.30 am after receiving their visas and travelled for nearly three hours, covering around 80 km, when they encountered the flood situation near a small village in a hilly area.

“There was no rain or even a cloud until then. It was bright and sunny, and the villagers were carrying on with their daily activities. Suddenly, an extremely heavy flow of water entered the river, and nobody understood what was happening,” a pilgrim told PTI Videos on Saturday.

He said vehicles were swept away and crashed into one another as the floodwaters surged, prompting their bus driver to immediately stop the vehicle after being warned not to proceed further.

Within two or three minutes of noticing the danger, the driver made a U-turn and drove the bus up a hill beside the road, he said, adding that once the bus reached the hill, other vehicles and villagers, including schoolchildren, were also moved to safety.

The pilgrim said a bridge near the village collapsed soon after the floodwaters surged, while several houses and villages along the river were also swept away.

According to him, five buses had left the hotel under the travel agency’s arrangements. Of these, two returned safely, while one was stranded but its occupants managed to return the next day.

Two buses carrying people from West Bengal went missing, and there has been no information about them so far.

The Indian government and the travel agency remained in constant contact with the pilgrims and offered assistance during the ordeal.

He also said the delay in receiving the visas had indirectly helped the group avoid being at the affected location earlier.

“Because some people who were supposed to arrive from Delhi came on an 8 am flight instead of the scheduled 4.30 am flight, we left Kathmandu at around 6.30 am. Otherwise, we would have left at 3 am and could have been at the location when the flood struck,” he said.

Another pilgrim, GT Naidu, said he had left for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from Bogapuram International Airport in Vizianagaram district on August 21 and travelled to Kathmandu, where he stayed for three days due to the delay in obtaining a Chinese visa.

Naidu said he was part of a group of 86 pilgrims from the Isha Foundation and was informed about the visa on the night of August 24.

He said 26 members of his group left their Kathmandu hotel at around 6 am and were travelling towards the Chinese Embassy when they reached the Trishuli River bridge and witnessed a sudden surge in the river.

“The flood was just 50 to 100 metres ahead of our bus. My driver immediately discussed the situation with another driver and decided to turn back. By the grace of God, we all were saved,” Naidu said.

He said a school with around 1,500 children was located nearby and the floodwaters were moving towards it, adding that the driver turned the bus towards a hill area, helping all 26 members of the group and local villagers reach safety.

Naidu said several Indian pilgrims and others were missing in the floods, including people from Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in New Delhi reported that seven people from the state were missing in the Nepal floods, with the details of three included in the Ministry of External Affairs’ missing-persons list so far.

Bhaskar Sastry and three others from Kurnool district, who were part of a 144-member group, have safely reached Nyalam County in China in Chinese buses.

The group is scheduled to travel around 350 km to Kathmandu via the Kodari border on August 30, with their flight from Kathmandu to India scheduled for September 1, AP Bhavan said.