JAIPUR, July 3, 2013: The state government has managed to bring smiles to relatives of almost 350 pilgrims who were rescued and brought home safely in special aircraft over the past three days.

However, people whose family members are still missing complained of lethargy on the government's part. Families whose kin have not yet been traced alleged that the government was not coordinating properly with Uttarakhand authorities.

Ramsingh Jat of Jatwara village near Bassi camped in Dehradun for more than 10 days in search of his 16 relatives. He regularly visits terminal 2 of the Jaipur airport to see if his kin have arrived.

"When I went there, I saw the state ministers and bureaucrats moving in and around Dehradun. I met some ministers and asked them about my 16 relatives who went missing from Kedarnath on June 16. None of them gave me a proper reply. It was easier for them to bring back those who were stuck in Badrinath, merely because they were stranded due to road blocks. What about those who went missing from Kedarnath," Ram Singh questioned while talking to TOI on Monday.

He said his family has lost all hope and now believes that they might have been washed away and died in the calamity, but "I urge the state government to at least try to retrieve their bodies".

"I saw people from other states carrying pictures of their relatives, and begging for help but they got nothing substantial from the authorities," he added.

Many people thronged at the airport on getting information that a special aircraft carrying pilgrims from Uttrakhand will arrive at 6pm on Tuesday. Several broke down in tears on not finding their kin in the flight.

The state government authorities said the combing operation in Gauri Kund, Kedarnath and other areas was started on Monday and they have given a list of missing people from Rajasthan.

"We are in touch with them and will ensure that the missing persons ,if alive, should return and if dead, their bodies be handed to their relatives. A policy will also be made for those who neither find their relatives alive nor get their bodies," said Rajendra Pareek, state industries minister, who was coordinating with the Uttrakhand authorities in the rescue operations.

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 3, 2013.