CM Vijay Deputes Officials and Ministers to Rescue 103 Tamil Pilgrims in Nepal

Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday directed a senior IAS officer to travel to Kathmandu and ordered four cabinet ministers to camp in New Delhi to coordinate the evacuation of 103 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu stranded in Nepal following flash floods.

Chairing a high-level review meeting at the Secretariat in Chennai after the Bhote Koshi river breached its banks in Rasuwa district, the Chief Minister directed Tamil Nadu House Resident Commissioner Asish Kumar to lead an on-ground delegation to Nepal. The team has been instructed to coordinate with the Indian Embassy and local authorities to trace missing tourists and expedite rescue operations.

Ministers Aadhav Arjuna, A Rajmohan, K Thennarasu, and R Vinoth have been tasked with establishing a command centre at Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi. Rehabilitation Director R Satheesh will join them to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs and manage evacuation logistics.

The state government stated that its immediate priority is to airlift 20 pilgrims who have already been located. Medical and psychological support teams have also been deployed to receive the evacuees upon arrival.

The pilgrims had travelled for the Kailash Yatra in two batches of 57 and 49 members before being stranded due to the flooding. Chief Secretary M Saikumar and Director General of Police Mahesh Kumar Agarwal were among the senior officials present at the emergency review meeting to finalise the rescue and evacuation arrangements.