New Delhi/Bengaluru, August 27, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
At least 17 people from Karnataka remain untraced in flood- and landslide-hit Nepal, prompting the state government to intensify efforts to locate stranded Kannadigas and facilitate their safe return, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Shivakumar said the government was working round the clock to establish the whereabouts of those whose details have not yet been confirmed.
“We are tracing people. Many are not tracked. Information about 17 persons is still to be obtained; it is not available,” he said.
The Chief Minister said several people from Karnataka had travelled to Nepal. While the locations of some have been established, the whereabouts of others remain unknown. He said details concerning those who are yet to be traced would be released once confirmed, adding that some stranded people were already in contact with their families.
Shivakumar said the Karnataka government was coordinating rescue and evacuation efforts through Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi and authorities in Bengaluru, while also maintaining contact with Union Ministers and other concerned authorities.
He stressed that Karnataka could not undertake rescue operations independently in a foreign country and would have to coordinate with Nepalese authorities and the Centre.
“We will work in coordination. We will unitedly take up the work of bringing them back to the state,” he said.
The Chief Minister also spoke to Mallinath, a resident of Kalaburagi district who survived the floods. During the phone conversation, Mallinath recounted the ordeal and said two buses travelling about 10 minutes ahead of his were missing. He later clarified that the tourists in those buses were from West Bengal.
Mallinath told Shivakumar that he had been staying in Kathmandu for three days but had not encountered any other Kannadigas.
Shivakumar advised him to remain safe and avoid taking any hasty decisions, to which Mallinath agreed, recalling that he had narrowly escaped the disaster the previous day.
Their conversation also briefly touched upon political differences. Mallinath said he admired Shivakumar’s approach despite supporting another political party. The Chief Minister responded that political affiliations did not matter in such circumstances and that all people from Karnataka stood together as Kannadigas.
The Karnataka government is continuing coordination with central authorities and diplomatic channels to trace those still unaccounted for and arrange the safe return of stranded residents.
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