'I am hopeful that my parents will return home'

At a time when the move to declare the Uttarakhand flood victims missing since a month dead is being contemplated, a youth from Kothrud is hopeful that his parents, whom he lost in the melee will return home safe and sound.

Umakant Yashwant More (32), a promoter, went on a Char Dham pilgrimage with his father Yashwant (63), a former Cummins employee and mother Alka (54). More is still making daily rounds of the district collectorate and calling up the authorities in Uttarakhand hoping that they will be located. More and his parents were part of a group of tourists who went to the yatra with Shiv-Gauri travels.

“We took Kedarnath darshan on June 15 morning and returned to our room around 9 pm. Soon after that, it started raining heavily. The locals asked us to vacate the rooms. Me and my parents walked together till Gaurikund along with some tourists but then we got separated in two groups. The group I was in, had 22 people. We halted at Jungle Chati while the other group of 17 tourists whom my parents accompanied were was stranded at Rambada,” said More.

“On June 25, I was rescued by the army. I was told that help has not reached Rambada. Later, I came to know that one of the tourists, who was in the group of my parents has returned to his residence in Pimpri. Hence, I hope that my parents will return too,” he added.  “For the nine days, we survived on tea and water from the waterfalls. We found accommodation in a small shanty. Later the government set us packets of puri-bhaji. But that too was inadequate as the food was insufficient,” he said.

More added, “I did not want to return to Pune without my parents. Till June 30, I stayed at the rescue camp. The officials asked me to return assuring that they will find my parents. I reached Pune on July 1, but till date I do not know about their whereabouts.”