📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ms Sarah Welch
Religion
Around 100 Maharashtra Pilgrims Rescued from Flood‑Stricken Nepal, Return via Bihar
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 29 Aug 2026, 12:02 PM
👁 28
A group of about a hundred pilgrims from Maharashtra, stranded in Nepal after severe floods, were escorted through Bihar and flown back to India.
Severe monsoon floods in Nepal this week cut off road access to several border towns, leaving a convoy of roughly one hundred pilgrims from Maharashtra unable to continue their religious journey. The group, travelling to a holy site in the Himalayan region, found themselves stranded as landslides blocked the main highway and local transport services were suspended.
Indian and Nepali authorities, together with the Bihar state disaster response team, coordinated a rescue operation. Pilgrims were moved to a temporary shelter in the border town of Biratnagar, provided with food and medical aid, and then escorted to the Indian border at Raxaul. From there, a chartered flight from Patna carried them safely back to Maharashtra.
The rescued pilgrims arrived in Mumbai on Saturday, where local officials welcomed them and thanked the Bihar disaster management officials for their swift assistance. No injuries were reported among the group, and the incident highlights the cross‑border cooperation required during extreme weather events.
Indian and Nepali authorities, together with the Bihar state disaster response team, coordinated a rescue operation. Pilgrims were moved to a temporary shelter in the border town of Biratnagar, provided with food and medical aid, and then escorted to the Indian border at Raxaul. From there, a chartered flight from Patna carried them safely back to Maharashtra.
The rescued pilgrims arrived in Mumbai on Saturday, where local officials welcomed them and thanked the Bihar disaster management officials for their swift assistance. No injuries were reported among the group, and the incident highlights the cross‑border cooperation required during extreme weather events.