New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Friday met a delegation of senior Tamil Nadu ministers, led by Aadhav Arjuna, and briefed them about India’s ongoing relief and assistance efforts for Indian nationals, including travellers from the southern state, affected by flash floods and mudslides in Nepal.
The meeting comes as 290 Indian nationals remained out of contact after the deadly floods in Nepal’s Bhote Koshi River.
In a post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said: “Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri met today with a delegation of senior Ministers from Tamil Nadu led by Thiru Aadhav Arjuna and briefed them on MEA India and Indian Embassy in Nepal’s ongoing relief and assistance efforts for Indian nationals, including travellers from Tamil Nadu, affected by the flash floods and mudslides in Nepal. The senior Ministers also visited the MEA’s Situation Room, which is operating 24/7 to assist Indian nationals and families.”
On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that 63 Indian workers at the Trishuli-I project in Rasuwa district and 21 people from Tamil Nadu who had travelled for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra have been rescued.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has ordered an IAS officer-led team to travel to Nepal to coordinate efforts to rescue Tamil Nadu residents stranded after devastating floods swept through the Himalayan nation’s northern region.
The decision was taken after CM Vijay chaired an emergency meeting with officials on Thursday to review the condition of people from the state caught in the disaster.
The Chief Minister said a delegation led by Tamil Nadu Home Commissioner Ashish Kumar would leave Delhi for Kathmandu, assess the stranded Tamils, and work with the Nepal government to coordinate the rescue operations.
The catastrophic flash floods in Nepal’s Bhote Koshi River have led to the death of 469 people while 977 people remain out of contact.
The floods, believed to have been triggered by an avalanche on a transboundary river between Nepal and China upstream of the Bhote Koshi River, have left a trail of destruction along the riverbanks downstream, sweeping away several human settlements, roads, hydropower projects and transmission infrastructure, among other facilities.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), 469 bodies have been recovered from various districts of Nepal. Of the 977 people who remained out of contact, 517 are foreign nationals.
Among those out of contact, 127 Nepalis residing abroad are also missing, according to the authority. The latest update also said that those who remained out of contact include 28 Nepal Police personnel, 45 Nepal Army personnel, 13 Armed Police Force personnel, 15 Customs Office staff and four Immigration Office staff.
At least 73 people have been injured in the disaster, including 43 in Rasuwa, three in Dhading and 27 in Nuwakot, the authority said.
IANS
