GUNTUR: As many as 130 pilgrims from Guntur, who were stranded at Hilsa while returning home after their visit to Manasarovar Yatra on June 25, were rescued on Tuesday night, thanks to the efforts of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and the district administration. They were later shifted to Simikot in Nepal.
Officials said the Nepal government is planning to shift the pilgrims to Nepanganj on Wednesday if weather permits. Guntur West MLA M Venugopala Reddy and other TDP leaders took up the issue with higher officials to ensure safe return of the pilgrims to Guntur.
Vasavi Film Cultural Association organised the Manasa Sarovar Yatra on June 25.
Talking to TNIE, the devotees alleged that tour operator Chitirala Sudhakar reached Hilsa by a helicopter with his family two days ago leaving them at the Hilsa hill station without proper arrangements. The said tour operator Sudhakar promised to send the helicopter but in vain and they were stuck at Hilsa for the past two days facing troubles for food and medicines.
Hence the pilgrims A Nageswara Rao, P Srinivasa Rao, M Hanumantha Rao and others called upon Guntur West MLA M Venugopala Reddy, Guntur East TDP in-charge Maddali Giridhar and other leaders to extend help for the stranded pilgrims.
A devotee Pothuri Siva Narendra Kumar alleged that Sudhakar had collected R`1.8 lakh per head apart from `11,000 in the name of extra expenses but he did not provide proper food and other facilities during the tour. He further alleged that all the 130 people were put up in seven small huts at Hilsa but he left the place by a helicopter with his family.
‘Later, he neither arranged a helicopter for us nor contacted us,” he said and added that they were stranded for five days due to bad weather at Nepalgunj and later left for Manasa Sarovar. While coming back, they were stranded at Hilsa, he said. A pilgrim P Ramu said Guntur DRO K Naga Babu had promised to make arrangements for their safe return. Earlier, Indian Embassy official Pranav Ganesh said that Nepal teams reached Hilsa and supplied food and medicines to pilgrims. nightmare ends