1,500 Indian pilgrims stranded in Nepal: Sushma Swaraj

The Centre has stepped up its efforts to reach out to more than 1,500 Indians, most of them from South India, who have been stranded in Simikot, Hilsa and Tibetan side of Nepal. The Indians were on a pilgrim trip to the holy place of Kailash Manasarovar and are stranded due to heavy rain and unfavourable weather.

External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Tuesday that the Indian Embassy in Nepal has deployed representatives in Nepalganj and Simikot and are in contact with the pilgrims. "Indian Embassy in Nepal has deployed representatives in Nepalganj and Simikot. They are in touch with the pilgrims and ensuring that food and lodging facilities are available to all the pilgrims... In Simikot a health check up has been done on all the elderly pilgrims. They are being provided required medical help. In Hilsa, we have requested police authorities for necessary assistance," tweeted Swaraj.

She said there are 1,575 Indian pilgrims stranded in Nepal—525 in Simikot, 550 in Hilsa and another 500 in Tibetan side. Swaraj added that the Indian govenrment has requested the Nepalese government 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. 

The following are the hotlines set up for the pilgrims:

Pranav Ganesh: +977-9851107006 

Tashi Khampa: +977-98511550077 

Tarun Raheja: +977 9851107021 

Rajesh Jha: +977 9818832398 

Yogananda: +977 9823672371 (Kannada) 

Pindi Naresh: +977 9808082292 (Telugu) 

R. Murugan: +977 98085006 (Tamil) 

Ranjith: +977 9808500644 (Malayalam)

On Monday, the Karnataka government had informed that around 290 pilgrims Kannadigas were stranded in Nepal due to heavy rains were safe. Meanwhile, a woman pilgrim named Leela Antharjanam, 56, from Kerala's Malappuram district has died due to respiratory issues, owing to lack of oxygen.