2,000 PILGRIMS STRANDED IN KEDARNATH RESCUED
About 4,000 devotees have returned from Kedarnath out of 6,000 amid heavy rain in Uttarakhand. The rest 2,000 pilgrims have been taken to safer places, officials said yesterday.
Heavy rain for the past three days has wreaked havoc in Nainital, Haldwani, Kathgodam, Ranikhet, Pauri, Lansdowne and Chamoli districts of the state. In Kathgodam, the railway track was washed away and fell into the river.
The District Magistrate of Rudraprayag said that helicopters have been pressed into service by the Army in the areas affected by heavy rain. Instructions have been issued to Chamoli and Rudraprayag district administrations to focus on the safety of the stranded pilgrims on the Char Dham Yatra routes.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami yesterday took stock of
the situation by conducting an aerial survey of the affected areas.
Tourists are also reported to be stranded at several other places in Uttarakhand. Instructions have been issued to the district authorities to
evacuate them as soon as possible.
Yesterday evening, Dhami reviewed the situation in Nainital after reports that many parts of the district are cut off for road traffic.