Bhubaneswar, Sept 11: In a swift and coordinated operation, a total of 23 Odia tourists stranded in Nepal due to the ongoing gen-Z protest have been successfully rescued and returned to India.
As per reports, the tourists had been on a holiday trip to Nepal and got trapped in the midst of the escalating situation that had erupted two days ago.
After learning about it, several agencies promptly intervened and carried out the rescue operation, which was completed in just five hours.
Key contributors to the successful operation included the Directorate of Odisha Parivar under the Department of Odia Language, Literature, and Culture, the Office of the Resident Commissioner in New Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, and Dr. Manoj Kumar Mahapatra, the Indian Ambassador to Romania.
The rescued tourists are: Ajay Kumar Panda, Mamina Panda, Pankaj Kumar Dhal, Bharat Kumar Swain, Kamini Swain, Sharda Prasanna Kar, Rima Kar, Manoj Kumar Mishra, Suren Dalai, Viren Dalai, Parsuram Dalai, Purnachandra Dalai, Prasannajit Dalai, Brajkishore Mishra, Lopamudra Mishra, Shreyan Saurabh Mishra, Santosh Kumar Pani, Sasmita Pani, Bagmipriya Pani, Pramod Kumar Mishra, Rajshree Mishra, Baishnab Sahu, and Suresh Chandra Sahu.
The tourists had initially traveled to Nepal for holiday vacation, but the outbreak of violent protests and disturbances had left them stranded with limited options for safe return. With no means to travel back home, the coordinated rescue effort by the Indian government and diplomatic agencies ensured that they were safely brought back within hours.
Sources confirm that the tourists are currently en route to Odisha and will be safely reunited with their families shortly.
