Coordinated efforts by the teams of the State Government continued to yield success after 47 more people from the State who had been trapped in the flood and landslide ravaged Uttrakhand returned on Sunday.
In addition to 160 persons located earlier, number of pilgrims who returned from Uttarakhand safely after the disaster reached 207, said Special Relief Commissioner PK Mohapatra. Mohapatra, however, quoting the Resident Commissioner’s office at New Delhi, said that there was no information about the 17 pilgrims belonging to one Rathi family in Sambalpur, except two members of the family who returned home.
Meanwhile, Mohapatra said that a team of three doctors has been sent from Bhubaneswar to the Odisha Bhawan in New Delhi to provide medical assistance to the people returning from Uttarakhand. Similarly, a team of administrative officials has also been dispatched to New Delhi to help the Resident Commissioner to coordinate for safe rescue of the pilgrims from the State, he said.
He asserted that still there was no definite information about the number of pilgrims and tourists from Odisha in Utarakhand. However, the three teams of officials have been continuing their efforts in locating the Odia persons in close coordination with the Uttarakhand officials.
On Sunday eight people were sent to Odisha by air. The Resident Commissioner's office made arrangements to send the eight persons in flight AI-473.
The State Government is facilitating their onward journey to their native places, he said, adding that five persons left New Delhi for Cuttack by the Rajdhani Express on June 22 last. As many as 21 have made their own arrangements for flying to Nagpur from where they will go to Jharsuguda, while four persons have reached Dehradun and are expected to reach the Odisha Bhawan, New Delhi on June 24 afternoon. These persons have preferred to stay at Haridwar, he informed.
Now, the administration is trying to render assistance to over 100 people still stranded at Badrinath. Helicopters could only reach to a limited area due to the bad weather. The Special Resident Commissioner is in touch with the Commissioner of Garhwal and Subardhan stationed at Gauchar from where air rescue operations to Badrinath are being undertaken. The latter has been requested to give priority to the old, sick and children from Odisha, he informed.
He said that three officials from the Resident Commissioner's office are at Dehradun, Haridwar and Rishikesh. At Dehradun, the Joint Resident Commissioner is also in touch with the Air Operation In-charge for the safe evacuation of the State people, Mohapatra said.