A fresh batch of 290 pilgrims arrived here from rain-hit Uttarakhand on Sunday by road. With that, a total of 884 pilgrims from the State stranded in Uttarakhand have returned home safely over the last four days. The pilgrims are being brought back by buses of the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation, arranged by the State government. So far, 26 buses have brought back 884 pilgrims.
“Fourteen Rajasthan Administrative Service [RAS] officers, three Rajasthan Police Service officers and 19 tehsildars have been stationed in the affected areas under the leadership of a senior IAS officer,” said Kuldeep Ranka of the Department of Disaster Management and Relief. Besides, seven other RAS officers have been stationed at a disaster relief camp in Dehra Dun.
“Thirty-seven people from the State are being treated at Dehra Dun’s Jolly Grand Hospital, while 322 are being attended to at relief camps set up in Rishikesh, Haridwar and Dehra Dun,” he said.
Affected persons were also being provided financial assistance and 65 people had been provided with Rs.2,000 each by the State. Rajasthan has sent three trucks each of food and medicines to Uttarakhand to aid in the rescue and relief process in the affected areas, he added.
On Saturday, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, along with State Congress chief Chandrabhan, had left for Uttarakhand and met his Uttarakhand counterpart Vijay Bahuguna and Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.