Hapless people stuck in the flood-hit Uttarakhand have horrific tales to tell. Several families from Delhi too were stuck — while a number managed to return, several others have not been so lucky.
Some have also separated from their groups and others’ health is deteriorating.
A businessman in Kotla Mubarakpur is worried about the well-being of his relatives. “Ten members from my family had gone for pilgrimage. Now, they have been split into groups. Two are at Gauri Kund, two are between Gauri Kund and village Ganesh Chatti and six — including my father Ghanshyam — are stranded at Ganesh Chatti,” said Varun Khandelwal.
“I spoke to my father the other day and he told me his health is bad. They don’t have any food. I contacted the helpline numbers and they said they threw food packets but it has not reached them,” he added. Khandelwal said there was no electricity or mobile network and that he had last spoken to his family 24 hours ago.
Vijay Yadav, a doctor from Sultanpuri in Delhi who had gone with his mother for the pilgrimage, said, “We had crossed Sonprayag and were coming down but the water level rose. We reached near Sonprayag helipad and somehow charged our phones through cars there. Helicopters had also come but refused to take us and said our names were not on the list.”
“Villagers looted stranded people. We somehow managed to come down and paid thousands of rupees for a taxi to bring us back to Delhi. We are on our way now and hope to reach safely,” he added.
“The Government has not made any arrangements. I started the journey with my wife and son. Before reaching the destination, my wife’s health worsened and we started moving back. There is no power,” said VK Arora, a PR professional stuck in his car with his wife and 15-year-old son.
“local shops are running out of supplies and potable water is not available. There is no toilet facility. People from different States are here. A few are running short of money too. We are 30 km from Damta and are living in our car,” he added.
Meanwhile, Deepal Pandey, PRO of ITBP, reiterated, “The Indo-Tibetan Border Police teams have been detailed about those stranded and efforts are being made to bring them back safely.”