84 Tamil pilgrims untraceable in Nepal, says TN Minister Aadhav Arjuna

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday (August 31) said 84 of the 305 Tamil people who travelled to Nepal for the Kailash Yatra remained untraceable, while 220 had safely reached their destinations, as the State stepped up efforts to locate and rescue those missing.

Highways Minister Aadhav Arjuna, who was part of the ministerial team coordinating the efforts and had been camping in New Delhi for the past few days, made a suo motu statement during Zero Hour in the Assembly after returning to Chennai.

Providing details of the stranded pilgrims, Arjuna said 57 people had travelled to Nepal through Super Yatra from Kumbakonam, of whom 21 had been rescued.

He said 49 people who had travelled through Mahadev Yatra from Chromepet remained missing.

“The government has taken efforts to rescue them through the Indian Embassy,” the minister said. “The State government is ready to take relatives of the missing people from Tamil Nadu to Kathmandu free of cost.”

As part of the relief and rescue efforts, three officials from Tamil Nadu House in Delhi were camping in Kathmandu and coordinating with officials of the Indian Embassy.

“The State government has set up a dedicated call centre at Tamil Nadu House to receive information about missing people and coordinate with their families. The call centre has received 2,161 calls from the families of affected people. The State government has been in constant touch with the Union government and Embassy officials,” the minister added.