As other newspapers in the last few days ran stories about misbehaviour of stranded people by locals, this Pioneer correspondent trekked from Sonprayag to Mudkattaganesh to ascertain the truth. Interestingly, it found half-truth in the claim.
The fact is that those stuck in the calamity are not only the pilgrims who came from outside the State, but also the locals who have lost their livelihood in the flash flood. They are also on the verge of migration if timely rescue and rehabilitation operation is not launched. Many of them have already started moving out to safer locations.
The residents of Gauri village, one kilometre from Gauri Kund, had been playing a good host to the stranded pilgrims till their stock last. A local said that the village of 250 people was hosting around 500 stranded pilgrims for first few days. They were hoping for Government help in providing provisions. But it remained a dream. Now with no ration for themselves, they are spending a harsh life. This has turned them indifferent to the agony of the stranded pilgrims. They fear if the roads remain unapproachable, they will not be able to feed themselves.
The Pioneer enquired with locals in Sonprayag to check the veracity of some media reports that alleged that local shopkeepers were making moolah by selling water at Rs250 per bottle, rice at 200 per plate and tea at Rs60 per cup.
The answers were in negative, at least in Sonprayag. Dilbar Singh Chouhan, who ran a grocery shop in Sonprayag main market, does not know how to make up for the loss caused by the flood. Normally they used to make handsome income in this month.
Another shopkeeper Darshan Singh, who had been running a grocery shop in Rambara for the last 28 years, has the same story to tell. His shops have been washed away in the flash flood. He is afraid of his sustenance as reports claim that the Kedarnath temple will not open for pilgrimage for the next 2 years. If this happens, then hundreds of guesthouses on the way to Gauri Kund will remain vacant and it will affect the lives of at least 25,000 families.