Nagpur: All but one of the 106 pilgrims from Nagpur stranded in Kathmandu crossed into India on Friday afternoon. The lone member left behind, 73-year-old Vimla Pandey, remains hospitalised in the Nepalese capital and is battling a critical medical condition. Pandey was admitted to Shaheed Gangalal National Heart Centre in Kathmandu after her health deteriorated a day before devastating floods and landslides disrupted the travel.“Doctors have installed a temporary pacemaker. However, Pandey will require an angioplasty and a permanent pacemaker once her blood sugar levels are brought under control,” her son, Rupesh Pandey, told TOI. He said the family is trying to bring her back to Nagpur for treatment.According to Rupesh, he has met an officer on special duty in chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s office and appealed to the state govt to arrange an air ambulance for her evacuation. A response is awaited.The pilgrims were part of a group led by religious teacher Batuk Maharaj, who had travelled to Nepal to visit shrines, including Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu, and participate in a Ram Katha programme.Maharaj said Vimla Pandey, a resident of Narendra Nagar who was travelling alone, developed health complications a day before the floods struck. “She was found to have dangerously high blood sugar levels and had to be admitted as her condition worsened. We could have stayed back until she recovered, but the floods hit Nepal the very next day. Prolonged stay would have put the rest of the group at risk. We decided to leave after assistance arrived from the chief minister’s office, while her family in Nagpur was informed,” he said.Before departing, members of the group pooled their remaining money and deposited it with the hospital to help cover Pandey’s treatment expenses. By the time the pilgrims crossed into India, her grandson Aditya Pandey had reached Kathmandu to stay by her side.However, after contributing most of their funds to her treatment, the pilgrims found themselves nearly penniless. “We have been travelling for almost two days without food,” Maharaj said.Another pilgrim, Sunanda Gawande, described the journey as arduous. “The locals cooperated with us, but the journey was extremely difficult,” she said..“It started raining heavily along the way and we were scared,” another traveller recalled.Meanwhile, back in Nagpur, Rupesh Pandey remains anxious both about his mother and son. “My 22-year-old son is alone in Kathmandu and we have no acquaintance in Nepal, and it has been tough for him to manage in the situation without any assistance,” he said. Pandey also shared his mother’s medical reports with TOI. He hopes that the state govt may intervene and arrange an air ambulance under a special case.Ashutosh Chaudhari, whose mother and two aunts were among those stranded in Nepal, said the family’s journey back to India was delayed by deteriorating weather and dangerous road conditions. According to Chaudhari, the Nepal visitors’ journey to India began when buses arranged by CM Fadnavis reached Kathmandu. However, the vehicles were stopped at a checkpost on the outskirts of the capital and instructed to turn back as weather conditions worsened.“The road ahead was treacherous, with dense forest on both sides, and authorities were not allowing any vehicle to proceed,” Chaudhari said. The stranded passengers were subsequently taken to a hotel in Kathmandu, where they were accommodated overnight. The buses were ready to resume the journey the following morning, but Chaudhari said he remained sceptical about the safety of his family members travelling by road, particularly due to the roads being previously flooded and prone to landslides.“I was sceptical about them returning to India by road, so I asked my family not to board the bus,” he said. The buses eventually departed Kathmandu at around 10am, while Chaudhari arranged air tickets for his family. His mother and aunts and an uncle left Kathmandu by flight at 2pm and reached Delhi. From there, they boarded Kerala Express at around 8pm for the onward journey to Nagpur. Chaudhari said the family is expected to reach Nagpur the following day, bringing an end to their difficult journey from Nepal.The travellers, however faced some difficulties at the Indian embassy as three of them had not carried their voter ID cards. The situation was later handled by the embassy staff.Pilgrims seek help after exhausting funds: The rest of the group reached India-Nepal border at around 2.45pm on Friday, weary and short of money after the difficult journey. The pilgrims missed the train they had planned to board from Danapur in Bihar after delays on the Nepal side. Heavy rainfall forced them to take a longer route, further slowing their travel, Maharaj said. Now struggling financially, the group has appealed for assistance to complete its journey home.Of the 106 pilgrims, four returned to India by air. The remaining members travelled by road, except Vimla Pandey.
