As many as 399 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu, who are stranded in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, are safe, according to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
All assistance would be rendered by the State government on a war-footing to bring them back. The relatives of the stranded pilgrims need not have any anxiety, she said in a statement.
A toll-free helpline – 1070 – had been set up at the office of Relief Commissioner here.
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A help centre had also been established at the Tamil Nadu House, New Delhi, and it could be contacted at 011-24193455 and 011-24193456.
A high-level committee, headed by the government’s Special Representative [P.M. Narasimhan], would go to Dehradun immediately with a view to bringing the pilgrims back to the State.
The panel would have Resident Commissioner in Delhi, Revenue Secretary and the Commissioner of Revenue Administration.
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The committee would coordinate with the Uttarakhand and Central governments to bring the pilgrims by helicopter to Dehradun, after which they would be flown to New Delhi and Chennai eventually, she said, adding that their travelling expenditure would be borne by the State government.
Of the pilgrims, 105 were from Thanjavur; 64 – Virudhunagar; 62 – Madurai; 41 – Salem; 37 each from Chennai and Villupuram; 19 - Kancheepuram; 16 – Tirupur; 13 – Coimbatore; 4- Tiruvallur and one from Ramanathapuram.