Unanswered messages, anxious families

Mumbai: Over 72 hours after the great Himalayan deluge along the Nepal-Tibet borders, the fate and whereabouts of Mumbai’s mountaineer and medico, Dr. Milind P. Chitaley, his wife Megha and their 61-plus team of pilgrims bound for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, in Tibet, remain unclear.

Leading mountaineers from Mumbai, Pune and other places, along with Maharashtra and Indian government are working almost 24X7 to get information on the ‘missing’ group that went through Hills & Trails, Andheri for the grueling pilgrimage.

With no trace of the group – they were reportedly in the thick of the monumental disaster that struck on Wednesday catching the world by surprise – many are losing hope.

“He is an experienced mountaineer with over three decades of adventure tours and trekking. For many years he has been organizing tours to the Himalayas and pilgrimage purposes,” a veteran of tall peaks and President of Akhil Maharashtra Giryarohan Mahasangh (AMGM) President Umesh Zirpe told ‘The Perfect Voice’.

Thane resident and retired professor Charuhas Joshi has proceeded to Nepal to help trace his friends, the Chitaley couple and the other pilgrims from different parts of the state.

“The Nepalese Army, various mountaineering associations and Gurkhas are doing a fabulous job. The region where the tragedy occurred has brought back a lot of sludge, debris along with the flood waters. Outside teams for search-and-rescue are not permitted by the Nepal government to avoid confusion,” Joshi told this paper from Kathmandu.

However, he was informed that “chances of any more survivors appear bleak given the mammoth tragedy, but miracles cannot be ruled out” as the families and friends of the group remain tense back home and pray for divine intervention.

Zirpe said that last year, he had visited the picturesque region which has now become a huge disaster zone that has shocked the world. “The pilgrims team was very close to this area and today I have only one confirmed name from Pune. We are optimistic that some positive news will soon emerge…” he trailed off.

He was all praise for the Nepal government which is managing the SAR efforts with its own expert mountaineers - especially the Gurkhas and Sherpas – and external rescue teams have not been allowed for the specialized operations.

Among the Mumbai pilgrims reportedly still missing are PD Hinduja Hospital, Mahim’s Dr. Anand Deshpande and his wife Dr. Gayatri of Nanavati Hospital, Vile Parle and efforts are on to verify other group members. Nevertheless, communication from Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region - where the Mansarovar pilgrimage destination is situated - remains a major challenge.

In a related development, activist Anjali Damania said on social media that her neighbour Prerna Kale - who had gone for the same pilgrimage with a Nepali organiser, Richa Tours, overseen by Dr. Chitaley – is also missing.

“Following the natural disaster, her family has not heard from her at all. She last spoke with her family on August 25 at 7 pm, informing them they were heading towards Kailash Mansarovar. We are trying all possible official channels for any information on her,” Damania added.

Unread Messages

Talking to PTI, Dr Chitley’s brother-in-law Sandeep Padhye said, “We were in touch with my sister till August 25, but the messages sent on August 26 remain unread.”

It is still unclear whether the group crossed into China before or during the floods, he said.

As per the itinerary, the group was to drive from Timure to the China border in the early hours of August 26 and reach Mansarovar on Saturday.

“We haven’t got any information from the authorities. An official of the Hills and Trails, a travel company founded by Dr Chitley, has travelled to Nepal to check. Till then, we are keeping our fingers crossed. We have to accept whatever the situation is,” he said.

The group was to return to Mumbai on September 6 after completing their Kailash Parikrama on September 2.

Dr Chitley, who founded Hills and Trails and has led treks to the Himalayas for nearly three decades, had posted a notice outside his clinic, stating it would remain closed until September 6.

State Help

Relatives of Mumbai resident Satish Patankar, who was also travelling in the region, have approached state authorities to help trace their location.

His brother Sanjay told reporters that he had reached Kathmandu on August 23 and spent the following day getting acclimatised and sightseeing before leaving for Timure, a post on the Nepal-Tibet border, on August 25.

“Satish messaged me on the evening of August 25 that his group had reached Timure and was scheduled to cross the border the following day. The group comprised around 27 people,” he said.

He was expected to complete immigration formalities at the border on August 26, Sanjay said, adding that the family believed the group could have still been at the immigration centre when the disaster struck and that the facility was probably completely washed away in the floods.

He said the family was trying to ascertain the whereabouts of the group amid the devastation caused by the disaster.

Final Position

For another Mumbai family, the wait for news has proved equally agonising, with Goregaon resident Rahul Desai telling PTI that his 67-year-old father-in-law Avnish Merchant and four friends are among those missing.

“They left for Kathmandu on August 23 for the Kailash Parikrama through Richa Tours, whose India partner is Hills and Trails. His last message came on August 26 at 7 am saying they were leaving for the border,” Desai said.

“Around 8.30 am, we found the last location from the iWatch of his friend, which indicated that their final position was the check post bridge,” Desai added.

He said the family was tracking all official channels for an update, while emphasising the need for a centralised information system. “It is a difficult situation. It would be better if there is a single-window facility to get information about casualties. There needs to be a structure so that families need not run from pillar to post,” Desai said.

There is a missing list, but there should also be a rescue and fatality list for the distraught family members, he added.

Last call, then silence: Thane father awaits news of missing son

The last phone call of his 28-year-old son still echoes in his father’s mind, a reminder of his excitement to start his journey to Kailash Mansarovar just hours before flash floods in Nepal cut off all contact with his family in Maharashtra’s Thane district.

Abhishek Ghone, a Kalyan resident working for a travel booking portal, had left for Kathmandu on August 24 and called home late Tuesday night to inform his family that his group would begin the journey early the next morning, shortly before the flash floods swept through Rasuwa and other parts of central Nepal on Wednesday.

The family has approached the authorities, but they have not responded with any concrete information, the distressed father said.

In their desperate bid for answers, one of Abhishek’s friends used artificial intelligence (AI) tools to track his location, which suggested he might be in a safe zone, though the family is wary of relying on unverified data, he said.

“My son had planned this pilgrimage for a long time and was excited,” Abhishek’s father said on Saturday, recounting the agonising silence that has followed their last conversation.

He explained that Abhishek had called late Tuesday night to share that his group would set off early the next morning, but the family has not heard from him since.

“We are completely unaware of his whereabouts and deeply concerned, and though we have approached the authorities, they have not yet gotten back to us with any concrete information,” the distressed father said.

The massive flash flood originating in Tibet swept through central Nepal on Wednesday, devastating several towns and villages, washing away critical bridges and crippling a dozen hydropower projects as it gushed downstream, affecting multiple districts.

In their desperate bid for answers, one of Abhishek’s friends used artificial intelligence (AI) tools to track his location, which suggested he might be in a safe zone.

“The information may not be authentic, and we want the authorities to provide verified updates,” Abhishek’s father added.

According to the family, the local tour operator managing the yatra was conveying 70 to 80 pilgrims from across India, who were travelling together across five vehicles when the extreme weather struck.

The family stressed that their sole concern was tracing their son amidst the destruction caused by the mountain torrents.

“We are not angry with the administration or upset. We only want information about our son,” his father pleaded, urging authorities to trace Abhishek in whatever condition he may be.

According to reports, four residents from the Kalyan-Dombivli region were reported missing in Nepal following the flash floods.

-With PTI