Kozhikode: A 40-member Malayali tourist group stranded in Nepal amid Gen Z protests has safely returned to Kerala. The team, organised under the Karassery Pensioners’ Association and coordinated by Kozhikode-based SkyKru Holidays, had left for Kathmandu from Bengaluru on September 8. Most of the tourists were senior citizens from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

A day after their arrival, the group witnessed explosions, burning tyres, and government buildings being set on fire during the protests. Although their trip to Pokhara was cancelled initially and the group was stranded on the streets of Gaushala, they were able to resume sightseeing two days later. The group covered much of their itinerary with the support of Nepal Tourism Board and the World Malayali Council before returning home on Saturday.

 “We were fortunate to find safe accommodation just 300 metres away from where the unrest blocked us,” said tour coordinator Basheer Karassery. He also thanked the travel company. The group is travelling back to Kozhikode via Wayanad by road from Bengaluru. Members hailed from Mukkam, Karassery, Kodiyathur, Koduvally, and Areacode.

Nepal witnessed nationwide protests triggered by a social media ban, which has since been lifted. The unrest eased only after Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli resigned on Tuesday. By Saturday, life gradually returned to normalcy in the country of 30 million. Shops reopened and vehicles were back on Kathmandu’s streets as most prohibitory orders imposed earlier in the week were suspended.