A group of 102 pilgrims from Nagpur who were stranded in Kathmandu after flash floods safely returned to Maharashtra on Sunday morning, officials said. The pilgrims had departed for Nepal on August 19 to visit the Pashupatinath temple and other sacred sites. They remained in Kathmandu until August 27, a day after severe floods hit the Nepal‑Tibet border, prompting their prolonged stay.
The larger contingent arrived at Nagpur Railway Station by train at approximately 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, while four pilgrims from the Vidarbha region reached the city earlier by air on Saturday. Nagpur BJP president Dayashankar Tiwari welcomed the travelers at the station. Pilgrim Yogesh Gawande told PTI that they felt fortunate to return amid a disaster that has claimed at least 675 lives and left nearly 2,400 missing. Another pilgrim expressed gratitude to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for facilitating the repatriation, and the chief minister’s office confirmed ongoing coordination with Nepal MP Sandeep Rana to arrange the safe return.
According to the pilgrims, the journey home began with a bus ride from Kathmandu to Janakpur in Bihar on August 28, followed by travel to Danapur the next day. From Danapur they proceeded to Patna, where they boarded a train bound for Nagpur. Pandit Sridhar Tripathi, who led the group, reported that 72‑year‑old Nirmala Pandey suffered a heart attack in Kathmandu and is currently hospitalized, with her son from Nagpur attending to her.
Earlier on Saturday, four Vidarbha pilgrims – Indira Chaudhary (65), Sulochna Khapre of Wardha, and Deepak Pande and Varsha Upadhyay of Hinganghat – returned safely to Nagpur. They had flown from Kathmandu to Delhi on August 28 and then traveled to Nagpur aboard the Kerala Express, providing considerable relief to their families.
