LIVE | Nepal floods: Fresh rain alert in disaster zone but glacier lake shrinks: Reports

One Madhya Pradesh family is relieved after two sisters caught in flood-ravaged Nepal were traced, even as five other families from the state endure an agonising wait for news of their loved ones.

At least seven people from Madhya Pradesh are missing or remain stranded in Nepal, including sisters Palak and Pallavi Manji from Anuppur and brothers Vikas and Himanshu Rajput from Raisen.

Among those still unaccounted for is Toronto-based engineer Swati Bagrecha, who went missing near the Nepal-Tibet border during a 77-member Isha Foundation pilgrimage.

Sisters Palak and Pallavi Manji, residents of Anuppur district studying and working in Gwalior, had lost contact for two days after being caught in the disaster while on a holiday.

The family finally received news on Friday that both sisters were safe in Pokhara and were expected to begin their journey home on Sunday, PTI reported quoting Kotma police station house officer Ratnambhar Shukla.

Their father also spoke to them over the phone after they were traced, the family said.

Nepal’s meteorology department has warned of fresh rainfall and thunderstorms in the country’s flash flood-affected areas, threatening to disrupt ongoing rescue and relief operations amid the worsening crisis, according to a media report.

The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology has indicated heavy rain in the hilly and mountainous regions of Koshi, Bagmati, and Gandaki provinces, the hilly areas of Karnali, and the Terai regions of Lumbini and Sudurpashchim provinces, The Rising Nepal media portal said.

Meteorologist Hari Prasad Dahal said most places in the Bhotekoshi flood-affected area in Rasuwa are likely to receive moderate rainfall on Saturday. “Heavy rain may occur in one or two places, which is likely to affect search and rescue operations. Therefore, precaution is necessary,” he added.

The meteorology department also indicated a possibility of moderate rainfall with thunder and lightning as well as snowfall in many places in the country’s hilly and mountainous regions from Saturday afternoon.

The regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces, along with some other hilly and mountainous areas, may experience rainfall with thunder and lightning as well as snow, it said.

Chinese authorities have already warned about a new barrier lake forming near the river's source in Tibet and alerted that the lake could breach, adding to risks of fresh floods in downstream areas in Nepal.

Four pilgrims from Vidarbha, including three women, finally returned safely to Nagpur on Saturday morning, bringing relief to their families.

The four, Indira Chaudhary (65), Sulochna Khapre of Wardha, and Deepak Pande and Varsha Upadhyay of Hinganghat, were among a group of pilgrims from the Vidarbha region in eastern Maharashtra who had travelled to Nepal for a pilgrimage to the Pashupatinath temple.

Khapre told news agency PTI that the group had left for Nepal by train on August 19 and reached the Pashupatinath temple on August 21. After completing their pilgrimage, they returned to Kathmandu on August 25.

Although the pilgrims from Vidarbha were not in the Nepal-Tibet border area where the deluge struck, the situation on the routes out of Nepal left them stranded in Kathmandu.

Meanwhile, 102 pilgrims from Maharashtra have boarded a train from Patna in Bihar as efforts continue to bring the remaining pilgrims back home safely, according to Chief Minister's Office.

Nepal’s public sector, private companies and individuals have pledged millions of rupees to the disaster relief fund as the Himalayan nation fights against one of its worst natural disasters.

Nepal's private companies, banks, insurers and individual donors have decided to contribute to the disaster relief fund to help victims, The Kathmandu Post reported.

Eighty-seven-year-old philanthropist Raji Rana met Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle on Friday and personally handed over NPR 10.98 million for relief efforts.

Among the largest corporate contributions announced on Friday was NPR 150 million from Surya Nepal Private Limited and NPR 50 million from the Jyoti Group, the report said.

Prime Commercial Bank and Agricultural Development Bank contributed NPR 30 million each, while Nepal Life Insurance pledged NPR 25.1 million.

Other major contributions included NPR 11.1 million from Morang Auto Works, NPR 10.1 million from Asian Life Insurance and NPR 10 million from Agro Thai Foods.

The Nepal Chamber of Commerce has handed over 17 surveillance drones to the Police Headquarters to help in rescue and relief efforts, Ratopati news portal reported.

Ncell Foundation, which has been providing free communication services to customers in flood-affected areas, has also announced NPR10 million in financial support to the fund, The Himalayan Times reported.

More than NPR 2.295 billion has been donated to the Prime Minister's Disaster Relief Fund since massive flash floods wreaked havoc in the Himalayan nation.

It received NPR 1.91 billion within 36 hours from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday midnight, while assistance worth NPR 385.5 million was donated on Friday alone, according to sources at the Prime Minister's Office.

With the latest contributions, the fund's balance has risen to NPR 4.09 billion from NPR 2.17 billion.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah and members of his cabinet will donate a month’s salary to the disaster relief fund.

The number of untraceable persons of Gujarati origin, including NRIs, in Nepal has risen to 26, according to a list released by the State Emergency Operations Centre on Friday. Several NRIs from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with links to Ahmedabad, Anand, Rajkot, Valsad, Surat, Kheda, Amreli, Gandhinagar and Vadodara, were on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.

“It’s difficult to see the horrific visuals of flash floods in Nepal, but we can’t lose hope,” said Rajkot resident Viral Nathwani, whose cousins are among those currently untraceable.

Nathwani said his cousin Jay Kotecha, a Mumbai resident, and Roma Intwala of Valsad were last contacted on Wednesday when they were near the Friendship Bridge and heading towards the Gyirong immigration building.

Around 56 people who had travelled through the same Mumbai-based Hills and Trails travel agency are currently unreachable.

In Vadodara, Chirag Patel is anxiously awaiting news of his sister Kinnari Patel and her husband Mihir Patel, both NRIs who have been living in New Zealand for the past 25 years.

Paresh Patel and his wife Jyoti Patel, and his sister Minaxi Ramani had completed immigration and were proceeding towards Kailash Mansarovar when they became unreachable, a relative, Gita Patel, said.

Paresh and Jyoti are US residents, while Minaxi had joined them from Mumbai for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.

Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy has informed the territorial Assembly that the government is in constant touch with the Centre and the Nepal administration regarding the status of three residents from the Union territory who were reportedly caught in the flash flood.

The three people were part of the tourists taken to Nepal by a travel agency based at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. “…Ananda Sundari, Vaishnavy Ramassamy and Geetha Ramassamy were part of the 57 pilgrims’ team from Tamil Nadu. The last known location of all these persons was Syaburbesi near the Nepal-China border,” Rangasamy said in a letter released by the CMO.

The CM was reacting to Pro-tem Speaker A Anbalagan, who raised the issue, stating that so far nothing had been known about the plight of the three people from Puducherry.

Rangasamy said the government has yet to get any information about the three persons. “We are contacting the Centre and the Government of Nepal for details. A search operation is on to trace them,” he said.