Over 40 Odia pilgrims stranded in Uttrakhand

P Narayan Rao, a resident of Parlakheumundi told OTV, “Of the group of 40 people, 30 who had gone to Gangotri from Uttrakashi are stranded since past four days”.

“It rained heavily the day they reached Gangotri and they decided to return. Since flashfloods and torrential rains have swept away many roads and bridges in the region, they are stuck on the way,” added he.

According to reports more than 73,000 pilgrims are stranded in various parts of Uttarakhand as there is no respite from the flooding. Kedarnath and Rudraprayag have been the worst affected regions by the monsoon.

The Army and the Air Force have mounted rescue operations to control the situation and save the stranded pilgrims.

As many as twenty-six teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal and Assam for relief operations.

The rains, which began on Saturday night, lashed Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday, taking the death toll to 58, reports say.

The met department has predicted more rains over the next two days in northern India.