Beijing, Aug 29 : A large number of Indian pilgrims stranded in Tibet began returning to Nepal on Saturday through an alternate border point after massive flash floods destroyed the Gyirong border post.
The Gyirong-Nepal border post is the main entry and exit point for Tibet through Nepal. Hundreds of foreign tourists, most of them pilgrims taking part in Kailash Manasarovar Yatra, were stranded after the post was destroyed in Wednesday’s devastating flash floods, which have killed over 600 people.
Stranded pilgrims, including several Indians, began crossing into Nepal through the Zhangmu border point, which was closed earlier due to earthquakes and landslides in the region.
Former Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation G Sateesh Reddy was among the Indian pilgrims who returned to the Nepal border on Saturday through Zhangmu.
Talking to PTI here while travelling to the border point, Reddy said, “I can see a lot of buses and vehicles travelling en route to Nepal through Zhangmu border point.”
Reddy was part of a 31-member group from Hyderabad that travelled to Tibet on August 23. They had entered the Tibet Autonomous Region through the Gyirong-Nepal border and were due to return through the same point on Friday.
Earlier, China’s official media reported that 555 tourists were among 1,000 people evacuated from Gyirong County.
Reddy said he and his family heard the news about the flash floods on Wednesday when they were doing the ‘Parikrama’ – circumambulation – around the sacred Kailash mountain along with thousands of others.
He was informed about the devastating flash flood at the Gyirong-Nepal border post through a call from embassy officials.
“Otherwise, we have not felt any impact and continued our Parikrama,” he said.
The torrent of water, mud and debris which engulfed vast stretches of the border area has also raised concerns over the safety of the pilgrim centres.
Reddy said Kailash Mountain and Mansarovar Lake — which are 700 kms from Gyirong — were not impacted by the flash floods.
The Chinese government, which is carrying out massive relief and rescue operations, has not yet commented on the impact of the flash floods on the rest of Tibet’s fragile mountainous environment.
The Kailash Manasarovar Yatra route was reopened last year as part of the normalisation process between India and China after a five-year freeze due to COVID-19 and a stand-off at Eastern Ladakh.
