Hyderabad: For 38-year-old Sridevi Vejella, a US citizen with roots in Hyderabad, the Kailash Mansarovar yatra had been a long-held dream. She was on her way back from Mount Kailash along with 76 others of her group when the Nepal flash floods occurred. Since then, there has been no contact with anyone from the group.Her husband, Deepak Dandu, is now travelling from the US to Hyderabad, where their 13-year-old son is waiting anxiously for news of his mother.Deepak told CBS News that Sridevi had travelled to Mount Kailash and was on her way back when the immigration centre at the Nepal-Tibet border was hit by the flash floods. Their son had stayed back in Hyderabad with the family.Deepak, whose social media profile shows him as a resident of New Jersey, had initially planned to pick up his son and wife and return to the US on Aug 31. But with no contact from Sridevi, his immediate priority, he said, is to reach Hyderabad and be with their son. “He is going through a lot right now. This is a tough time for our family,” Deepak said while boarding the flight, struggling to hold back his emotions.For Sridevi, the pilgrimage was more than just a journey. “The Kailash Mansarovar yatra had been her lifelong dream. She had undertaken the trip with that aspiration in mind. She has been connected with the Isha Foundation for a long time now,” he told CBS News in the video interview.Recalling his last conversation with Sridevi, Deepak said, “She confirmed to me on Tuesday that she is on her way back after the trek. I got to know through her team leader that she was at the immigration centre. Ten minutes later, the communication got cut off.”The plan was for the group to travel back to Kathmandu and then take a flight to Hyderabad, Deepak said. “I just want to go and be with my son right now.”Sridevi was part of the S3 batch of 77 people. K Suteja, an official with the Isha Foundation’s Hyderabad centre, said the batch comprised people from around 19 countries, with roughly three to four members having roots in Hyderabad.Most of the pilgrims hold passports from countries including the US, UK, Canada, Germany and Malaysia, Suteja said. “We have not received any fresh update on any of these 77,” she said.
