As many as 151 Odia pilgrims trapped in various locations of Uttarakhand due to flood and landslide have been rescued so far and of them 112 persons are already on their way to Odisha.
Quoting the reports of the Control Room established in the office of the Resident Commissioner at the Odisha Bhawan, New Delhi, aspokesperson of the Special Relief Commissioner
(SRC) here said that special arrangement had been made by the State Government for travel of 64 persons in Air India Flight that left Delhi for Bhubaneswar on Saturday evening.
However, sources said that there was no information of any casualty of pilgrims from the State stranded in Uttarakhand, amidst reports that many more devotees from Odisha are still stuck at various areas in the hill State.
The SRC office also said that the State Government has made elaborate arrangements for the pilgrims to reach Dehradun after tracking the trapped ones and from there to New Delhi.
The State Government on Friday said that 80 pilgrims from the State stranded in flood-hit Uttarakhand had been rescued and 54 of them were on their way back home.
Meanwhile, on the instruction of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the State Government has set up a 24X7 control room at the Odisha Bhavan in New Delhi in the office of the Resident Commissioner with the helpline number
(011-23019771 and 011-23018498) for information of the affected people and their family members.
The Resident Commissioner is also
monitoring the Uttarakhand situation and coordinating with the State Government.
The family members from Sambalpur who had been to Kedarnath are yet to be traced, Resident Commissioner Saxena said.
The State Government has also dispatched three teams of officers led by Joint Resident Commissioner Dr Tribikram Pradhan (Mobile No. 9868217141) and the teams have been stationed at Dehradun, Risikesh and Haridwar.
It said the teams are contacting the people from Odisha airlifted from Kedarnath and are facilitating them to move to Odisha or Delhi as they desire. They are also trying to contact those who are managing to come by road and extending support to return to Delhi and Odisha.
The SRC’s office also said that arrangements have been made to provide food,
accommodation and medical care to the returnees at the Odisha Bhavan, while the
railway authorities have also been contacted to render
necessary assistance to those people desirous to return
to Odisha.