HYDERABAD: The agonising wait for stranded pilgrims in Uttarakhand by their families and friends continued on Tuesday also with hardly any information coming in about their conditions as a result of the breakdown in the communication network.
“There is no communication from my parents since Monday morning. My father’s mobile is either switched off or out of coverage area,” bemoans Vamshi, a private employee from Miyapur. His parents joined a group of 15 relatives from Nalgonda on the trip.
His parents, V. Anjaiah and V. Punyavathi, went on the ‘Char Dham Yatra’ last week and got caught in the floods. There are many other families undergoing the same agony. “A retired government employee provided shelter to my parents initially but it seems he could offer food only for a day. This is the last update we received about them,” said Karthik, whose parents Swamy Venkateswarlu and Kumari too are in the same group.
Another group of 70 members from Saidabad and other areas is stuck between Hrishikesh and Badrinath since Monday night. However, it was joy unlimited for over 30 families in Ramchandrapuram when their family members managed to contact them. “We got a call today afternoon. They are safe in Panchavati at Badrinath,” said Santosh Reddy. His father V. Malla Reddy, a BHEL employee, had left on the pilgrimage along with 30 others on June 4.
Meanwhile, private tour operators here claimed that the Army was taking up rescue operations and had already airlifted many pilgrims, stranded at different places to Hrishikesh and Dehradun. They also stated that most of the scheduled trips to these holy places have been cancelled.
‘Locals had not seen anything like this in the last 10 years’
“The local people here said they had not witnessed such a calamity in the last 10 years. Police said roads to Yamunotri will be repaired by Wednesday morning but the ones to Gangotri will take time. Presently, they have stopped pilgrims from heading further and are evacuating those stranded at different places. They said a final decision on allowing pilgrims on the trip will be taken depending on the situation,” says Nageswara Rao, an advocate from Nellore.
“We reached Uttarkashi on June 15 midnight. It was raining heavily leading to landslides. We had to go to Yamunotri but were stranded at Barkot village near Uttarkashi. There was no electricity and life was thrown out of gear. Things have settled now and we are safe,” said 58-year-old Dr. Sudhindra, who went on the trip along with his wife M. Laxmi from Kadapa. They spoke to this correspondent over phone on Tuesday afternoon from Barkot village.
