Hyderabad, June 23, 2013: Itinerary that was changed at the last moment by a tour manager saved the lives of 40 members of a team that was on a trip to Uttarakhand when flash floods devastated the region.

The group was heading to Badrinath from Kedarnath when tour manager K. Narasimha, a retired Railway employee, decided to veer the route to visit the Triyuga Narayan Temple, a little away from Kedarnath. News of floods and avalanche hitting Kedarnath reached them when they were at the temple, prompting them to make a halt at the shrine till the situation improved.

The decision of Mr. Narasimha, a seasoned traveller who has been frequenting the region every year since 1993, is being hailed by all his team members who reached the city on Saturday. In another instance, knee pain suffered by women pilgrims saved them from the havoc.

“Several women in our group suffered from joint pain. So we decided to head for Haridwar without visiting Kedarnath which required a good amount of trekking. Dolis used to carry the old and decrepit were in short supply too. This saved 60 lives in our group,” Bharathamma, a member of the group, from General Bazaar said. They were among the 150 pilgrims who arrived here in two additional coaches attached to the A.P. Express on Saturday.

Source: The Hindu, DT. June 23, 2013.