Pune: Sixty-one of the 114 people from Maharashtra identified in the flood-hit Nepal-Tibet border region remain unreachable due to a near-total communication blackout, a senior state disaster management official told TOI on Thursday.The official said authorities also managed to establish contact with 199 people, including a group of 150, in Tibet, who were all reported safe. The department has shared available details with the ministry of external affairs (MEA), activated emergency response mechanisms and reached out to Ham Radio operators to help establish contact with people stranded in the affected region.With communication infrastructure severely damaged, the official said the numbers could change as more information became available. “As of now, there is no terrestrial communication. It is completely disrupted. Response agencies have been activated and information will gradually start flowing through their communication channels,” the official said.Officials said a district-wise breakup of affected Maharashtra residents was not yet available because communication remained disrupted. Authorities are also coordinating with families and planning to set up a help desk while supporting the MEA’s response efforts.Four from Pune appeal for helicopter evacuationAmid the ongoing rescue efforts, four Pune residents stranded in Jilong, Tibet, after the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra have appealed to Centre and state govt for an emergency helicopter evacuation. Pooja Bhosale, one of the stranded pilgrims, said two members of their group had developed serious health complications linked to acute oxygen deficiency on Aug 23 and 24. “We travelled nearly 800km with oxygen support from Mansarovar, at an altitude of around 15,000 feet, to Jilong, which is located at about 9,000 feet,” she said.The group was scheduled to complete immigration formalities on Aug 25 but had not reached the checkpoint when the flash flood struck. The immigration office was later washed away, leaving them stranded. “Local doctors have advised us to return to India immediately for further treatment,” Bhosale said.Pilgrims look for alternate route homePreetish Mutha, owner of Pune-based Vacanza Travels, said around 100 pilgrims were undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, including five passengers from his agency. “The five pilgrims left Pune on Aug 19 and had completed the Mansarovar leg of the pilgrimage. They travelled via Kathmandu before entering Tibet through the designated border crossing,” Mutha said.With border infrastructure damaged by the floods, many pilgrims are now exploring alternative routes through Nepal to return home. Another Pune pilgrim stranded in Darchen (Tibet) said authorities were arranging phased evacuations through Nepal.“From Hilsa, there is a helicopter service to Simikot (Nepal). Four passengers can travel at a time, and flights will operate depending on weather conditions. From Simikot, travellers will be flown to Nepalgunj and then onward to Kathmandu. We hope to reach Kathmandu by Saturday night,” he said.Separately, state disaster management department also confirmed that 106 residents of Nagpur district who travelled to Kathmandu (Nepal) on Aug 22 with a group led by Shri Swami Maharaj were safe. The group, mostly senior citizens visiting for tourism and religious purposes, was not affected by the severe floods, the department said in a press release.
