Families of 85 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu who went missing after the devastating flash floods and landslides in Nepal on August 26 say they still have no definitive information about their loved ones a month later. They are waiting to learn whether their relatives are alive and where they may be.

Several groups of Kailash pilgrims from Tamil Nadu were in the Nepal–China border region when the flooding occurred. According to information presented by the Tamil Nadu government in court, 220 of 305 pilgrims from the state were rescued and returned home, while contact had not been established with the remaining 85.

Of those uncontactable, 49 travelled in a single group organised by Mahadev Kailash Yatra, based in Chromepet, Chennai. Their relatives said the group was near the Rasuwagadhi immigration point on the Chinese border when the disaster struck on August 26. The group's 28-year-old guide, Sathya Narayanan, is also among those reported missing.

As part of efforts to identify the missing, DNA samples were collected from close biological relatives. Family members of at least 78 missing people reportedly provided blood samples, and their DNA profiles were shared with authorities in Nepal and China. Some families received confirmation on September 16 that the profiles had been sent, but said they had received no further information about their relatives.

Relatives met Tamil Nadu Minister for Non-Resident Tamils' Welfare K. Thennarasu on September 15 and urged the authorities to accelerate the search. They also called for a team of state officials and some relatives to be sent to carry out a wider search in the Chinese border areas.

With no definitive information forthcoming, family members held a hunger protest in Singaperumal Koil on September 21. Their central demand is for regular, clear updates on the efforts to locate their relatives.

The matter has also reached the courts. On September 2, the Madras High Court directed the Union and Tamil Nadu governments to file detailed status reports on steps taken to trace the missing pilgrims. The court was told that former Madras High Court judge V. Sivagnanam was among those missing.

After more than a month without confirmed news, the families want the search to continue and comprehensive checks to be made at hospitals and rescue centres in Nepal and the Chinese border region. Their immediate hope is for official confirmation of the status of the 85 pilgrims identified as uncontactable in the earlier government account.