INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
mountainous region due to heavy rain while returning from the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage in Tibet.Five commercial flights and one Nepal
Army chopper operated today, transporting 96 Indian stranded pilgrims from Simikot to Surkhet as the weather condition in Nepalgunj is bad
On the Hilsa-Simikot route, three Nepal Army choppers operated, the Indian Embassy said.Around 250 of the over 1,500 Indian pilgrims
stranded were evacuated safely from Hilsa on Tuesday, the embassy had earlier said.A total of 158 people were evacuated yesterday from
Simikot to Nepalganj, which is a fairly big city with all modern facilities and three hours road connectivity to Lucknow, the mission had
said.The embassy has already set up a hotline for pilgrims and their family members, which also comprises other language speaking staff for
Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam speakers.Two pilgrims -- Leela Narayanan Mandredath, 56, of Kerala and Satya Laxmi of Andhra Pradesh --
died on Monday due to high altitude sickness in Simikot and heart attack in Tibet respectively, the Indian Embassy had said.Their bodies
were brought by special helicopters to Kathmandu and Nepalganj respectively, it said in a statement.Tenzin Norbu Lama, the managing director
of Sunny Travels and Treks, one of the major tour operators handling the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, said Indian pilgrims were stranded as the
air transport links were cut off due to bad weather but there were no problems in food and accommodation."However, mountain areas lack
proper medical facilities in the event of pilgrims suffering from altitude sickness due to their prolonged stay in the region," Mr Lama was
quotes as saying by the local media.The pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibetan region of China is considered holy by Hindus, Buddhists
Every year, hundreds of Indians undertake the 'yatra' which involves trekking under inhospitable conditions.
