General
NAGPUR: An annual vacation turned out to be a horrific experience for seven friends from Nagpur who were left stranded in Nepal following ‘Gen Z’ protests. The group comprising Yash Chimurkar, Tushar Bais, Sahil Solanki, Aniket Thakre, Sagar Paradkar, Ajay Bawane, and Saurabh Thakre returned to Nagpur on Thursday.“After visiting a few tourist spots, we left Kathmandu on Sept 9 to visit Chandragiri Hills. After descending the hill at 11 am, we were warned against heading to the Nepalese capital. We were unaware of the violent protests but sensed lurking danger as we witnessed burning tyres just 200m away,” Chimurkar said, terming the entire experience a “brush with death.”It was then that the group heeded the warnings but was unable to move ahead for two hours.
“We then took a 10km detour, where a group of youths stopped our vehicle. Although initially threatened, the youths spared us after learning we were tourists. When we pleaded with them that we were hungry and asked them to let us go, they cleared the way by removing stones from the road. We witnessed widespread arson, violence and utter chaos in the city, and even government buildings were not spared,” he added, narrating their ordeal.
At night, the group hid in a car in an alley for three hours, by which time they had sensed the volatile situation.“We sat quietly in the car. Then some people knocked at the door. As soon as we opened it, they started hitting us. We pushed them away, slammed the door shut, and the driver sped off. We managed to escape and fortunately found a hotel to take shelter in,” one of the group members said.On Sept 10, the group reached near Sonauli on the India-Nepal border. “We were frightened to see flames rising nearly 50 ft high. For some time, we hid behind a truck. Over 100 protesters were attacking every vehicle passing by. Showing presence of mind, our driver made a U-turn and fled through a narrow inner road,” Chimurkar said. “On seeing Indian soldiers, we ran towards them. They checked our documents and allowed us entry.
Then we returned to Nagpur via Gorakhpur on Sept 11,” he said.