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Amidst the widespread destruction caused by flash floods in Nepal, a group of around 100 tourists from Nagpur who were stranded in the Himalayan nation returned home safely on Sunday, with pilgrims recalling their narrow escape from the calamity.
Recalling the ordeal, one of the travellers, Yogesh Gavande, shared that while the primary destruction occurred about 50 kilometres away from their location, they remained stuck in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. He further recounted that during their journey back to India, they witnessed a bus getting submerged due to the surge in water level. "We were staying about 50 kilometres away from where the incident occurred. We got stuck in Kathmandu, but our Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, helped us, rescued us from Nepal, and brought us back to India. When we were returning to India, four of our buses were arranged... out of five, one bus got swept away in the water. We saw everything there--the weather was extremely bad, and it was a rainy weather," Gavande told ANI. Expressing her gratitude to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, another pilgrim, an elderly woman, recounted that the situation in Nepal had become so dangerous that at one point, returning home seemed impossible. She shared that they witnessed devastating floodwaters carrying people away right before their eyes. "Our situation was such that the arrival seemed impossible. It was so dangerous that we had given up hope of returning to our home in Nagpur and to our children. Only when Devendra Fadnavis's help began reaching us did we start believing that we could go back. We saw it with our own eyes, the flood, the water, and people getting washed away--but since we were at a safe spot, we managed to survive," elderly woman told ANI. Meanwhile, Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) today issued an urgent public safety warning following reports of a sudden increase in the roar and water flow of the Bhote Koshi River. Authorities have urged residents and relief teams along downstream settlements to exercise extreme caution and remain vigilant. In an official update posted on X, the NDRRMA cited alerts received from local authorities on the ground. The fresh warning affects three major downstream districts that were severely impacted by the catastrophic August 26 flash floods. Communities near the Rasuwa riverbank, including areas near the Nepal-China border, have been instructed to monitor water levels closely. Emergency services and local administration units along the river basin have been placed on standby in Nuwakot & Dhading. "The District Administration Office, Rasuwa, has received information that the sound of increased flood flow in the Bhote Koshi River has been heard. Therefore, we request that caution be exercised in the areas around the river up to Rasuwa, Nuwakot, and Dhading. We will provide further updates as soon as additional information is received," posted NDRRMA, Nepal. (ANI)
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