While the effort by Underhill and volunteers to rid various places of garbage has been appreciated by many, there are many in Uttarakhand who are wondering why the many villagers who played an active role in the post disaster rescue and relief measures were ignored by the Tourism minister.
Some villagers had exhausted their own rations to feed stranded pilgrims even though this left them with little for themselves. There were many locals in disaster affected districts who cooked food for many days to feed stranded and rescued pilgrims along with those involved in the rescue operation.
Neither the State nor the Central Governments have acknowledged the efforts of these people and now the Tourism Minister has announced Rs 5 lakh for an activist who along with volunteers cleaned the mess caused by Government inefficiency at one helidrome.