Vijayawada, June 22, 2013: The worst fears of relatives of people who went to Uttarakhand on a pilgrimage seem to be turning into reality with each passing day. There is no word about 10 persons of a 15-member group from Bawajipet here that went on a pilgrimage to Kedarnath and Badrinath.

Their names do not figure in the list of pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh rescued till now. Bolisetti Durga told The Hindu that she sees no chances of her brother and sister-in-law returning because one of the survivors saw members of the group getting washed away by the flood waters.

“Four members turned back from Haridwar and survived. Of the remaining 11 people only one survived. A 45-year-old woman Annapurna sat on the branches of a tree for two days until the water receded and survived the flood. From what she told me, there is no chance of the remaining people surviving. Annapurna told me that the elderly could not get on to the tree and got washed away,” Ms. Durga said.

Avula Ranga Reddy, 66, and his wife Venkata Lakshmi, 56, were also in the group. Their house has become a meeting point for the people whose relatives are missing. The neighbours too have gathered in front of the house to share the sorrow of the grieving. Their daughter Jaya said that she heard about her parents last on June 15.

142 pilgrims from Krishna stranded

As many as 142 pilgrims belonging to Krishna District are stranded in Uttrakhand and are cut off with their family members as per reports reaching here by Thursday evening.

The district authorities have already provided the details of the stranded devotees to the Disaster Mitigation Centres (DMCs), set up at Haridwar and Dehradun. “We have no clue about the status of these 146 people from the District.

There was also no information whether they were missing or stranded in disaster-struck areas,” District Revenue Officer L. Vijaya Chander told the Hindu .

Mr. Vijaya Chander had been in touch with National Disaster Management authorities in New Delhi as well as the State Government. Most of the devotees, who returned safely to their home town, did not even inform about missing of their co-travellers or friends at New Delhi and people relied on the local helpline, which was set up at the Collectorate in Machilipatnam.

However, complaints are being received on Helpline phone numbers 08672-252572 or 0866-2576217 or 08672-252486. More details about the status of the stranded pilgrims can get from phone numbers 09810981293 or 09871990081 or 09999989796.

Source: The Hindu