Maharashtra residents stranded in flood-hit Nepal safely return to India after coordinated evacuation

A group of Maharashtra residents who were stranded in floodaffected parts of Nepal has safely returned to India and is now continuing its journey back to the state the Chief Ministers Office CMO said on FridayThe residents had been caught in areas affected by severe flooding and were evacuated through coordinated efforts involving authorities in India and Nepal After returning safely to India the group interacted with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis through a video call and thanked the state government for its assistance in facilitating their returnAccording to the CMO the residents expressed relief after reaching India and acknowledged the efforts made by authorities to coordinate their evacuation and onward travelGroup speaks to Fadnavis after returning to IndiaDuring the video interaction the stranded residents thanked the Maharashtra government and the Chief Ministers Office for their response and coordination while they were in NepalSpeaking to the group Fadnavis said their evacuation and return had been made possible through the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar He said the Centre had ensured that assistance reached the affected residents and that arrangements were made for their movement back to IndiaThe CMO said the residents had safely crossed into India and were proceeding towards MaharashtraEarlier evacuation efforts involved 106 passengers from NagpurThe latest update follows evacuation arrangements initiated earlier this week for a larger group of Maharashtra residents stranded in NepalOn August 27 Fadnavis spoke to residents from Maharashtra who were awaiting assistance and assured them that every possible effort would be made to ensure their safe returnAccording to a post by the CMO all 106 passengers from Nagpur had safely departed Kathmandu and were travelling towards Danapur in Bihar as part of the arrangements made for their return journeyThe group was required to travel through Nepal before crossing into India with authorities arranging transport for different stages of the journeyLocal transport arranged for journey to the IndiaNepal borderFollowing a phone call from Fadnavis Nepal MP Sandeep Rana arranged four local minibuses to transport the passengers from Kathmandu to JanakpurThe passengers were expected to reach the JanakpurBihar border the following morning From there further transport arrangements were made to take them to DanapurTheir onward journey by train was also arranged allowing the passengers to continue towards Maharashtra after reaching IndiaCoordination between authorities helped facilitate returnThe evacuation involved coordination between the Maharashtra government the Centre and authorities in Nepal according to the CMOWhile the residents were initially stranded because of flooding and difficult travel conditions authorities worked to arrange their movement from Kathmandu towards the IndiaNepal border and then onwards through BiharThe CMO said the residents who had safely returned to India were now making their way back to MaharashtraFlooding disrupted travel in parts of NepalThe evacuation was carried out amid difficult conditions in floodaffected areas of Nepal where disrupted transport routes had left the Maharashtra residents unable to continue their planned journeyThe state government had remained in contact with the affected residents after receiving information that they were stranded The evacuation arrangements were subsequently coordinated with the authorities concerned to ensure their safe movement back to IndiaWith inputs from IANS