Nagpur: From Nagpur to Delhi, Kathmandu and finally Bihar, an extraordinary chain of Marathi-speaking political and administrative contacts played a crucial role in bringing home 104 Nagpur pilgrims stranded in flood-ravaged Nepal.What began as a distress call from Kathmandu soon turned into a multi-state, cross-border rescue effort, with the common thread at every stage being the presence of individuals with strong Marathi roots or connections to Maharashtra.The operation was set in motion after BJP Mahila Morcha office-bearer Sunanda Gawande reached out to Nagpur MLA Pravin Datke when the pilgrims found themselves stranded after floodwaters damaged key roads and disrupted travel routes out of Kathmandu.Speaking to TOI, Datke said he immediately escalated the matter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the chief minister’s office (CMO), triggering swift coordination across multiple levels.“Once we received the call, we approached the chief minister and his office, which then contacted Nepal MP Sandeep Rana. Manoj Munde, associated with the CM’s office at Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi, was among the first to coordinate extensively. Within five to 10 minutes, contacts were established in Nepal and arrangements were initiated for the group’s safe movement,” Datke said.As efforts shifted to Nepal, the Marathi link surfaced again. Former Nagpur mayor and BJP city chief Dayashankar Tiwari said a close aide of Nepal MP Sandeep Rana happened to be Marathi-speaking, significantly easing communication and coordination.“Interestingly, there was a Marathi connection at different stages of the entire operation. An aide of the Nepal MP was Marathi, and that helped immensely in communication and coordination there,” Tiwari said while receiving the pilgrims at Nagpur railway station early Sunday.The Marathi connect did not end at the Nepal border. After the pilgrims entered Bihar through Sitamarhi, another key link emerged in the form of Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur (JDU), who has long-standing ties with Maharashtra and is fluent in Marathi. Thakur studied law at ILS Pune and was a former student union president of Savitribai Phule Pune University.According to Tiwari, Thakur personally ensured that the stranded travellers were provided food, accommodation and other assistance while arrangements were made for their onward journey. “Once the pilgrims reached Bihar, Thakur ensured that arrangements for food and lodging were made. The coordination continued until arrangements were made for their onward train journey. It required coordination at several levels,” he said.At Sitamarhi, the group was provided meals, medical assistance and facilities to rest and freshen up before being moved onward to Patna, from where their train journey to Nagpur was organised.For Datke, a call from anxious families in Nagpur quickly evolved into a large-scale coordination exercise involving the Maharashtra CMO, Maharashtra Sadan officials in Delhi, political representatives in Nepal and authorities in Bihar.The 104 pilgrims finally reached Nagpur around 4.30am on Sunday, where they were welcomed by Tiwari and other local leaders. Their return marked the successful conclusion of a rescue effort in which, by all accounts, the Marathi connect repeatedly bridged distances, facilitated communication and helped keep coordination moving seamlessly across states and international borders.
