HYDERABAD, June 23, 2013: K Srinivas of Gudimalkapur can never forget June 18, the day he and his wife negotiated the steep cliffs of the Himalayas, in Uttarkhand, to save themselves from the calamity that's triggered havoc in the hill state. All through their treacherous 21-kilometre-long journey to safety, the couple was armed with nothing but vague directions from locals. Even food and water arrived after prolonged waits and that too in extremely meagre portions. 

"It's something I will never forget. We were the only two people who mustered the courage to trek to safety," said a visibly shaken Srinivas, 42, who along with his 36-year-old wife Jyothi returned to the city on Saturday, on the Duranto Express. 

The businessman and his spouse left for Delhi on June 7 with a group of 70 people from Hyderabad. Their first stop on the Char Dham Yatra' was Haridwar from where the group went to Badrinath, Kedarnath and reached Gangotri on June 15. The very next day floods hit the state and the group was forced to cut short their onward journey to Yamunotri and stay put, almost in the middle of nowhere. This is when trouble began. 

'Help came late for pilgrims' 

Recollecting horrific experiences, Srinivas shared how the furious floods had washed away all roads ahead of them. All that remained was just heaps of boulders. The battle before them was to conquer a distance of 21 km between Maneri and Uttarkashi to seek help. "As our group neared Uttarkashi on the way back from Gangotri we found the roads had either disappeared or were completely damaged by boulders hurtled down the hilltops. There was no way our jeep could go any further," Srinivas said. 

Respite came to them briefly when the couple, following in the footsteps of the other pilgrims took shelter at a hillside lodge. "There was no electricity and our cell phones were running out of charge. Even catching signals was difficult. I switched on my phone occasionally to call my father," the survivor said. As the torrential rains continued, the water levels too started rising rapidly, the couple said while narrating how they were forced to hit the rocky road again after the lodge owners evacuated the pilgrims fearing that the structure could collapse. That's when Srinivas along with his wife and 16 others set out to Uttarkashi on foot. But soon, the size of the group was reduced to just two. "Unnerved by the slippery terrain, 16 people who started with us backed out," he said. 

Undeterred, the couple, however, continued their journey, the first 7 km of which was asteep climb up the hill without any idea where it would lead to. "The locals gave us quick directions to go around the hills but refused to give us detailed instructions. For four hours we trekked with no soul in sight. It was scary," he said. It was only 48 hours of relentless walking and a million anxious moments later that Srinivas and his wife reached to safety in Uttarkashi. The journey back home from there was tiring. To clear stranded pilgrims in Uttarakhand, railway authorities have attached extra general coaches to a few trains. One coach was attached to New Delhi-Bangalore Karnataka Express departing New Delhi and two coaches to Hazrat Nizamuddin -Hyderabad Dakshin Express departing Hazrat Nizamuddin on Saturday. One has also been attached to the Hazrat Nizamuddin -Tirupati AP Sampark Kranthi Express departing Hazrat Nizamuddin on Sunday.

Source: The Times of India, DT. June 23, 2013.