2 weeks ago
Visa Rejection Spares Bengal Woman as Nepal Pilgrims Go Missing
Tapati Singha wanted to join a Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage through Nepal.
Her Chinese visa was refused a few days before the trip, and no reason was given.
She went to Ladakh instead and later decided to return to Kolkata.
The group she planned to join left Kolkata on August 21 and reached Nepal the next day.
It included 32 people, made up of 30 pilgrims and two tour managers.
Flash floods then struck near the Nepal-Tibet border.
The group could no longer be contacted after the floods.
Reports said the floods killed 270 people and left many others missing.
Travel officials and authorities are trying to find out what happened.
Tapati Singha, 61, returned from Ladakh after her Chinese visa was denied without explanation.
She had planned to join a 33-person West Bengal group traveling through Nepal for a Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.
The other 32 travelers, including 30 pilgrims and two tour managers, became uncontactable after flash floods near Rasuwagadhi.
The Nepal-based partner of the Kolkata travel agency could not reach the group after communications were lost.
Four travel-agency officials went to Nepal, while authorities and helplines worked to gather information for families.
- Who
- Tapati Singha, 61, and 32 other West Bengal travelers, including 30 pilgrims and two tour managers.
- What
- Singha missed the pilgrimage after her Chinese visa was rejected, while the other 32 group members became uncontactable after floods in Nepal.
- Where
- The group was near Rasuwagadhi, close to the Nepal-Tibet border; Singha traveled to Ladakh and was returning to Kolkata through Delhi.
- When
- The group left Kolkata on August 21 and reached Nepal on August 22; the floods struck before the reports, and Singha said she would return on Thursday evening.
- Why
- Singha did not join the group because her Chinese visa was rejected without a stated reason.
Key facts
- Traveler
- Tapati Singha, 61
- Planned group
- 33 West Bengal travelers, including Singha
- Uncontactable group
- 32 people: 30 pilgrims and two tour managers
- Pilgrimage
- Kailash Mansarovar
- Flood toll reported
- 270 deaths
- Flood location
- Rasuwagadhi area near the Nepal-Tibet border
- Agency response
- Four officials went to Nepal to seek information
Quotes
Tapati Singha
A 61-year-old West Bengal resident who had planned to join the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage
“I have already landed in Delhi and should reach Kolkata airport by evening.”
NDTV
freepressjournal.in
Sources
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