Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 29 : Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader and Tiruchirappalli MP Durai Vaiko on Saturday visited the residence of Vimala, who is stranded in Nepal amid heavy rains, floods and landslides, and met her husband Ravi and other family members.
Vaiko said that five people from the Tiruchirappalli Parliamentary constituency were stranded in Nepal. Of them, Karpagam Rajamohan (62), Sivaranjani Muthunathan (46) and Vallinayagi Sivakumar (61) have already been safely rescued.
However, contact could not currently be established with Vimala (50) and Gangasundarambal (67), he said.
Vaiko said that 57 people from Tamil Nadu are stranded in Nepal and that he has been continuously urging the Union Government and concerned authorities to take steps to safely rescue Vimala and all the others and reunite them with their families.
Expressing hope that Vimala and the others would return home safely soon, Vaiko said he would continue making all efforts for their safe return.
Further speaking to reporters on a dry port proposed for Tiruchirappalli, MDMK Principal Secretary and MP Durai Vaiko said, "The Chief Minister replied to the Finance Ministry that they are interested in setting up this project. They mentioned a multimodal logistics hub for this project... My only request is that suitable land be identified and the Tamil Nadu government officially offers an expression of interest to the Indian Finance Ministry... This project will offer direct employment to at least 2,500 people and indirect employment to nearly 10,000 people... Once the dry port is set up, in ten years, we will have lakhs of employment opportunities..."
Meanwhile, a Tiruchirappalli woman who survived flash floods and a natural disaster in Nepal while travelling on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar has recounted her harrowing experience, expressing gratitude to the Central and Tamil Nadu governments for coordinating the rescue operation and urging the authorities to establish a dedicated emergency helpline for Indians stranded abroad.
Shivaranjani, a resident of Woriyur in Tiruchirappalli, shared her experience with reporters after returning safely to India.
"Travelling to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar had been a lifelong dream of mine. I had been praying for the past six months for this dream to come true. On August 23, I travelled through Kumbakonam-based Super Yatra Travels. We left Kathmandu on the morning of August 24 and stayed at Shiyakul Base. On August 26, we resumed our journey. The roads towards the Kyirong Embassy were in extremely poor condition," she said.
The death toll from the catastrophic Rasuwa Bhote Koshi flash floods has risen to 675, with emergency teams recovering bodies and human remains across multiple downstream districts, according to the latest updates released by Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).
As of 6:30 pm, a total of 2,418 individuals remain missing or out of contact following the deluge.
Meanwhile, Indian troops continued their rescue efforts in Nepal following the flash floods. The rescue operations by the Nepal Army are currently underway in Trishuli.
Speaking to reporters, an army personnel added, "Today is August 29. Since 16:45 hours, we have recovered 418 Nepalese people; out of which, 173 are female, and 245 are male... Chinese nationals are 42, and Indian nationals are 8."