Hyderabad: Nearly 40 days after floods swept parts of Nepal, families of Telangana pilgrims who are still missing say they have received no update from authorities, even as DNA samples submitted over ten days ago have yet to yield results. The pilgrims had gone for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.Among the missing are US citizens Hanumanth Rao Unnava, former dean of the University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management, and his wife Vasundhara, an adjunct associate professor at the same university, who have roots in Hyderabad. The couple had spent two months in Hyderabad before leaving for the yatra with the Himalayan Glacier group. Their family has had no contact with them since the floods struck an immigration centre on Aug 26.Vasundhara’s sister Shailaja Kapila said the family travelled to Kathmandu, met officials at the Indian and US embassies and visited hospitals, but found no information. “The US embassy and Indian govt told us that it will take more than three months to start the DNA mapping,” she said. Their son and daughter, both working with the US State Department, are waiting for news.Sridhar Avvari, his wife Deepti and their 14-year-old son Abhinav have also been missing since the floods. Their family submitted DNA samples to Nepalese authorities on Sept 11 but has received no update. “For us, it’s not one person; three people are missing from our family. This is a very difficult time,” said relative Priyanka.Padmavathy Sonduripantangi, another Telangana-linked pilgrim based in the US, remains untraced. Her sister Sonu Guduri said, “Both the Isha Foundation and the govt have been silent on this.”Telangana secretariat helpline officials said 25 people remain listed as missing.
