New Delhi : In the wake of recent inclement weather along the route of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, the Ministry of External Affairs cautioned pilgrims of getting stranded in various locations.
In its latest advisory, the Ministry warned all pilgrims that Simikot and Hilsa in Nepal are only connected by air. Therefore, extreme weather conditions could hamper the movement of small aircrafts and helicopters. The Ministry further recommended pilgrims to get medically examined before starting the Yatra and carry medicine for up to one month, since Simikot and Hilsa lack medical facilities, comfortable boarding and lodging places.
Prospective pilgrims, along with state governments and tour agencies have also been advised to refer to the guidelines prescribed by the Ministry in April this year.
In the previous notice, pilgrims were asked to obtain appropriate Chinese visa and Travel Permit for Tibet before the journey. A number of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims are stranded in parts of Nepal following a heavy downpour.
883 pilgrims evacuated: MEA
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Thursday that 883 Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims, who had been stranded due to inclement weather, have been evacuated from Simikhot to Surkhet and Nepalganj in the last three days.
Speaking at a regular press briefing, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “The Mission has undertaken an exercise to evacuate from Simikot and Hilsa. So far, 675 pilgrims have been evacuated from Hilsa to Simikot. 53 civilian flights operated and 142 choppers carried out the rescue operations.”
“The situation is slowly coming to normal. There are 50 pilgrims in Surkhet and 516 pilgrims in Simikot. The evacuation is ongoing. If the weather holds up, we will get them out soon,” he added.
In response to the humanitarian situation arising out of pilgrims being stranded in Hilsa and Simikot (both lean onboarding/lodging/medical infrastructure), the Indian mission mounted a rescue operation to evacuate all pilgrims to Nepalganj.
500 stranded Indians still await evacuation
Kathmandu: Over 500 Kailash Mansarovar Yatra pilgrims were still awaiting rescue flights. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters that the Indian Embassy in Nepal has undertaken a massive exercise to evacuate pilgrims both from Hilsa and Simikot and “if the weather holds we will be able to get them out in the near future”. In the last three days, 883 stranded pilgrims have been evacuated from Simikot to Nepalgunj and Surkhet. – Agencies
“At least 675 pilgrims were evacuated from Hilsa to Simikot. Fifty-three civilian flights were operated to get the pilgrims out and 142 chopper sorties were carried out,” Kumar said.
“The situtation is fast returning to normal. We have around 50 pilgrims in Surkhet and 516 in Simikot. Evacuation efforts are ongoing.”
He added that there was no crisis situation and pilgrims were stranded because weather had packed up.
“If you see the advisory we have put up on our website, specially for pilgrims taking the Nepal route, there is always a chance that when you are passing some of these points the weather could pack up. It just happened that civilian aircraft could not operate because of adverse weather conditions.”