These people were rescued by the Army on Thursday from Badrinath and air-lifted to Joshimath from where they were sent to Rishikesh through a Punjab Police bus. The volunteers of Confederation of All-India Traders (CAIT) and All-India Marwadi Yuva Morcha (AIMYM) later hired a private bus for them from Rishikesh to Jaipur.

Vimla Goliya, one of the rescued pilgrims, accused the Uttarakhand Government of not taking any serious note of the stranded people and credited the Army for their safe return. Each day passed like a year, said Ms. Goliya, adding that she still could not believe that she was alive. AIMYM national president Lalit Gandhi, who along with other office-bearers of the morcha and the CAIT was part of the rescue operation, said that it was one of the biggest tragedies to have hit the country and it was difficult to precisely count the number of people missing or dead. CAIT secretary-general Praveen Khandelwal said that the two organisations had offered to adopt two villages and reconstruct them.