We have still not lost hope. My brother has been to Uttarakhand several times before and he is familiar with the terrain. It is possible that they are trapped in some remote village and are safe,” said Alok Shrivastava in a sagging tone that hinted of the fading hope as time steadily passes after the calamity in Uttarakhand.
Six family members of Alok had gone for Kedarnath trip on June 9 along with eight other persons. Only three persons of the group returned and none from Alok’s family.
They included his elder brother Anand Shrivastva, Anand’s wife Usha Kiran Shrivastava, younger brother Vimal Shrivastava and his wife Meenu Shrivastava, their sister Aruna Khare and her son Ramesh Khare.
Alok informed that Anand Shrivastava had retired from the State Bank of India a few years ago. “He lived at his residence in Saraswati Nagar locality with his wife. His two sons and daughter, who are all settled out of Bhopal, have come here after hearing about the calamity,” he said on Thursday.
“The last time we had contact was on 15th June in the afternoon when they were about to reach Kedarnath. Since then we are in total darkness about what has happened. We have lodged police report in Bhopal as well as in Rishikesh,” he told.
The six members of Shrivastava family are among the 24 persons who are still missing as per the data provided by the district Control Room. Revenue Inspector RK Sharma told on Wednesday that the administration has sent photographs and other details of these persons to Uttarakhand police.
Those still untraceable also include five family members of Sharada Mourya, who is Additional District Prosecuting Officer (ADPO) in Raisen. She informed that five persons from her family including father Ram Avadh Mourya (76), mother Shyama Mourya (48), Ramjag Mourya (58), Sita Mourya (55) and Surja Devi Mourya (45) are still missing.
“I had talked to them last on June 16 when they were on the way to Kedarnath from Gaurikund. My younger brother had gone to Rishikesh, Haridwar and Dehradun to look for them.
“All our hopes are waning as the days pass by,” Sharada told. Five family members of Ravi Sonvani, a businessman at Durgesh Vihar, are also missing. “My father Bhikam Sonvani, mother laxmi Sonvani, brothers Ashish and Manoj and two other relatives are missing. They had left for Kedarnath on June 8 and we last talked on 16th,” Sonvani informed.