Visakhapatnam, September 11 (Udaipur Kiran): The Andhra Pradesh government arranged a special flight to bring back 144 residents stranded in Nepal, who landed safely at Visakhapatnam airport on Wednesday.

The initiative was taken after Minister Nara Lokesh held a review meeting at the RTGS centre in the Secretariat with fellow ministers Vangalapudi Anitha, Kandula Durgesh, and senior officials. Lokesh instructed teams to closely monitor the situation and make proper arrangements for the safe return of the state’s people.

Of the 144 passengers who arrived from Kathmandu, 104 will travel onwards to Visakhapatnam and 40 to Tirupati. The state government has made necessary arrangements, including special buses and cars, to ensure their smooth travel to their respective hometowns.

The returnees include 105 people from Uttarakhand and 40 from the combined districts of Chittoor and Kadapa.

At both Visakhapatnam and Tirupati airports, local leaders and officials were present to receive the passengers. At Visakhapatnam airport, those who welcomed them included MP Bharat, MLAs Palla Srinivasa Rao, Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, Atthi Gajapati Rao, Vamsi Krishna Srinivas, Vishnu Kumar Raju, Kolla Lalitha Kumari, along with District Collector M.N. Appi Reddy, Commissioner of Police Shankha Brata Bagchi, and other senior officials.