Heavy rain in India: Pilgrims, tourists from Maharashtra stranded

Mumbai: Hundreds of pilgrims and tourists from Maharashtra are stranded in several rain-battered towns of North India even as their families are worried about their well being.

Travel companies that had arranged trips to several religious centres of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamnotri, Haridwar, Rishikesh and other places are now trying to get in touch with their tour operators to find out the welfare of their customers. Ashish Kulkarni of Chaudhary Travels in Nashik told Gulf News that he last heard on Monday that 140-150 pilgrims were safe in hotels in different towns. “However, we have not been able to contact any of them today though our people there are coordinating with the state authorities and the army to bring them back to safety,” he said.

Another representative of the company told a TV channel they had received news of roads being closed everywhere due to severe damage by the swift flowing rivers. It would at least take another five to seven days for the roads to open up for motorists, he said.

The pilgrims are from Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Latur, Jalna, Nagpur and other places. Many relatives have said they heard from their loved ones on Monday and Tuesday morning but have not been able to contact them later on.

Meanwhile, “In an effort to provide assistance to the stranded devotees of Maharashtra, after the disaster that has struck Uttarakhand due to floods, landslips and cloudburst, the Government of Maharashtra, Department of Relief and Rehabilitation, has set up a Relief Coordination Unit at Dehradun,” stated a government release. Additional Resident Commissioner Pradeep Kumar, Maharashtra Sadan, New Delhi, and another officer Jagdish Chandra Upadhyay have already headed to Dehradun to help facilitate coordination between Uttarakhand authorities and the Maharashtra government.