State governments in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have launched coordinated efforts to locate and recover citizens who went missing or became stranded in Nepal after severe flash floods struck the Himalayan nation this week. The disaster, triggered by heavy rainfall, has caused widespread damage across several districts in Nepal, washing out roads, bridges, and stretches of the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage route, leaving multiple Indian pilgrim groups unaccounted for and prompting a cross-border humanitarian response involving state authorities, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, and private religious organisations.
West Bengal authorities said they are working to trace 32 pilgrims from the state who had travelled to Nepal for the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra and have been unaccounted for since the disaster. The group departed earlier this year on the pilgrimage route, which passes through high-altitude regions of western Nepal that have been heavily affected by the flooding. Officials in Kolkata said they are in contact with the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, the Ministry of External Affairs, and their counterparts in Nepal to coordinate rescue and evacuation logistics. Efforts are focused on confirming the whereabouts of the pilgrims, arranging safe passage out of affected areas, and providing consular assistance where needed.
Among the missing pilgrims is a daughter-in-law of former Union Minister Mukul Roy, according to state officials. The disclosure has drawn political attention to the broader search operation, though authorities have framed the effort as a humanitarian response covering all 32 individuals regardless of political affiliation. The involvement of a politically connected family member from West Bengal’s ruling establishment has elevated public attention on the missing pilgrims, but the search effort itself reflects the standard protocol Indian states follow when citizens are caught in disasters abroad.
Separately, the Isha Foundation, headquartered in Tamil Nadu, said a pilgrim group of approximately 80 people from multiple countries that it had organised remains missing in the flood-affected region. The foundation stated that measures are being worked on to bring the group back, and said it is coordinating with Indian diplomatic missions and local authorities in Nepal. The Tamil Nadu dimension, involving a private spiritual organisation with international participants, highlights the broader cross-border exposure of Indian-linked pilgrim groups.
The flash floods have disrupted a pilgrimage route that draws thousands of Indian devotees annually. Indian pilgrims undertaking the yatra typically enter Nepal before crossing into Tibet, and the route has historically been vulnerable to weather-related disruption, particularly during the monsoon season when heavy rainfall triggers landslides and flash floods across the Himalayan terrain. The current disaster has affected multiple districts in Nepal, with infrastructure damage complicating rescue and evacuation efforts.
Why it matters:
The simultaneous disappearance of more than 100 pilgrims from two Indian states underscores the vulnerability of religious tourism routes that pass through some of the most disaster-prone terrain in South Asia. The Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra, considered one of the most sacred pilgrimages in Hinduism, traverses remote high-altitude regions where communication networks are limited, weather conditions can change rapidly, and emergency response infrastructure is often stretched thin during the monsoon months. The fact that two separate Indian-linked groups have gone missing in the same disaster highlights how concentrated the risk can become when large pilgrim batches travel through the same corridor during peak rainfall periods.
The political dimension in West Bengal, where a member of a former Union Minister’s family is among the missing, has amplified media attention on the search operation. However, state officials have sought to frame the response as a humanitarian effort covering all 32 missing pilgrims equally. The Tamil Nadu case, involving the Isha Foundation, adds a layer of complexity given the international composition of the missing group, which includes participants from multiple countries, requiring coordination not only with Indian diplomatic missions but also with foreign governments and their consular services.
The disaster also raises questions about the adequacy of pre-departure safety briefings, real-time tracking mechanisms, and emergency communication protocols for pilgrim groups operating in high-risk zones. Private religious organisations like the Isha Foundation organise large batches of devotees for international pilgrimages, often traversing terrain where local emergency services may be overwhelmed during natural disasters. The current situation is likely to intensify scrutiny of how such organisations prepare for and respond to contingencies when their groups are caught in disasters abroad.
Background and context:
The Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage undertaken by Hindus to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet, regarded as the abode of Lord Shiva and a source of the Brahmaputra, Sutlej, Karnali, and Indus rivers. The route typically passes through Nepal, with pilgrims entering the country before crossing into Tibet. Each year, thousands of Indian devotees undertake the journey, which involves traversing high-altitude terrain prone to landslides, flash floods, and extreme weather events. The yatra season generally runs from June to September, coinciding with the South Asian monsoon, which historically has disrupted the route and, in some years, forced cancellations or evacuations.
Flash floods in Nepal’s Himalayan regions are a recurring phenomenon, particularly during the monsoon season when intense rainfall combines with steep topography and glacial melt to produce sudden, destructive surges. Nepal has experienced several major flood events in recent years, including the catastrophic 2015 earthquake and subsequent landslides, and seasonal flooding that regularly displaces thousands and damages infrastructure. The current disaster appears to follow this pattern, with heavy rainfall triggering flash floods that have washed out roads and bridges critical to the pilgrimage route.
The Isha Foundation, founded by spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, organises regular pilgrimages to Mount Kailash and other sacred sites, often involving large groups from India and abroad. The foundation’s Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra has drawn thousands of participants over the years, and the current disappearance of approximately 80 of its members represents one of the largest single-group disappearances in recent memory for an Indian spiritual organisation operating abroad. The foundation has not yet released a detailed statement on the nationalities of all missing participants, but its reference to coordination with Indian diplomatic missions suggests that a significant portion of the group may be Indian citizens.
The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu routinely assists Indian nationals caught in disasters or emergencies in Nepal, and the Ministry of External Affairs operates a dedicated control room for such situations. The current search effort appears to be following established protocols, with state governments relaying information to the Centre, which in turn coordinates with Indian missions abroad and local authorities in the affected country.
Analysis:
The West Bengal search operation illustrates the political sensitivity that can arise when citizens from influential families are caught in disasters abroad, but the underlying mechanics of the response are routine. Indian state governments regularly coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian embassies when citizens are stranded or missing in foreign countries, and the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra has historically been a focal point for such coordination given the route’s vulnerability to weather-related disruption. The fact that 32 pilgrims from a single state have gone missing in one event is unusual and suggests that the group may have been travelling together or been caught in the same location when the floods struck, complicating rescue efforts given the scale of infrastructure damage.
The Isha Foundation case adds a dimension of private-sector responsibility to the disaster response. Unlike state-organised pilgrimages, private spiritual organisations bear a significant degree of duty of care for the groups they assemble and transport through high-risk terrain. The fact that 80 members of such a group remain missing will likely prompt questions about the foundation’s pre-departure risk assessments, on-ground coordination with local authorities, and emergency communication protocols. The involvement of participants from multiple countries also complicates the diplomatic dimension, as foreign governments will expect their own consular services to be engaged.
Both cases underscore how religious tourism routes through Nepal carry ongoing risk during the monsoon season, and how coordination between state governments, the Centre, and private facilitators becomes critical when large groups go missing simultaneously. The current disaster is likely to intensify calls for improved tracking mechanisms, mandatory registration of pilgrim groups with Indian missions abroad, and clearer protocols for private organisations operating in disaster-prone regions.
What to watch next:
The immediate priority is the location and safe evacuation of the missing pilgrims from both West Bengal and the Isha Foundation group. The next 48 to 72 hours are likely to be critical, as search teams work to establish the whereabouts of the missing individuals amid ongoing infrastructure damage. State governments in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are expected to release further updates as more information becomes available from Indian Embassy staff in Kathmandu and Nepalese authorities on the ground.
The Ministry of External Affairs is likely to issue a formal statement on the search operation, and the Isha Foundation is expected to provide further details on the composition of its missing group and the measures being taken to locate them. Families of the missing pilgrims are likely to mount public pressure for accelerated search efforts, and political leaders in both states may face questions about the adequacy of pre-departure safety briefings and coordination with private travel organisers.
In the longer term, the disaster is likely to prompt a review of pilgrimage safety protocols, particularly for the Kailash-Mansarovar route during the monsoon season. Questions about whether the yatra should be suspended during peak rainfall periods, whether private organisations should be required to register pilgrim groups with Indian missions abroad, and whether real-time tracking mechanisms should be mandated for high-altitude pilgrimages are all likely to feature in public and governmental discussions in the coming weeks.
Conclusion:
The Nepal flash floods have exposed the vulnerability of Indian pilgrims undertaking high-altitude religious journeys through one of the most disaster-prone regions in South Asia. With more than 100 individuals from two Indian states currently unaccounted for, the disaster has triggered a coordinated response involving state governments, the Centre, Indian diplomatic missions, and private religious organisations. The coming days will be critical in determining the fate of the missing pilgrims, and the longer-term response is likely to include a reassessment of how India manages the safety of its citizens undertaking cross-border pilgrimages during the monsoon season. The political dimension in West Bengal and the international scope of the Isha Foundation case both underscore the complexity of coordinating humanitarian responses when large groups go missing in disasters abroad.
Sources
The Hindu: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/west-bengal/32-pilgrims-from-west-bengal-missing-after-nepal-flash-floods/article71396509.ece
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Story synopsis gathered from: The Hindu – National — source
