Hotel where we ate breakfast swept away moments later, pilgrim recalls Nepal floods horror

Forty-three pilgrims from Maharashtra, on their way back from Nepal, recall the harrowing experience of witnessing their hotel swept away moments after they dined there in flash floods. Upon returning to Mumbai, they were deeply shaken by the horrifying realization that the lives of some of the hotel staff were lost in the disaster. Prakash Shantaram Mane, a Kalyan resident, recounted the somber moment when they learned that the hotel they had just enjoyed breakfast at was no more, along with its staff.

The group was stranded near the Timure border after crossing into China, following Chinese authorities' directives on movement restrictions. Mane recounted the relief he felt upon reaching Mumbai, as the pilgrims' ordeal was far from over. They had been attempting to reach Kathmandu from Saga, where they had been stranded due to the floods and landslides that blocked their path.

The Maharashtra government's Emergency Control Room and Thane District Collectorate kept a close eye on the pilgrims' progress, while local officials like Sandeep Mane, Kalyan tehsildar Vikas Gardukar, and MLA Rajesh More maintained direct communication with the group. Accompanied by nine Nepali tour staff, the pilgrims eventually returned to Kathmandu on August 29 before boarding a flight to Mumbai on Sunday afternoon.