Relatives panic as Delhiites go missing in floods

Incessant rains followed by landslides in Uttrakhand have left many pilgrims from the Capital stranded in the state. Several of Delhi residents who are stuck in Uttarakhand have not been able to get in touch with their families for almost a week.

The family members of those who are stranded have been panicking and most claim that they have not been able to get any help from the government-run helplines and other services. dna spoke to some of these families.

Twenty relatives of a family residing at Saket have been stranded in Uttarakhand. “My parents and I have been calling everyone who we think can give us some information, but to no avail,” said a family member Megha Sharma.

“The official helpline is just giving us the number of people rescued and the number of people still stuck there,” she added. Sharma’s 65-year-old grandparents are also among the those stranded in the landslides. Megha’s relatives had reached Gangotri and Kedarnath on Saturday. They called Megha and her parents on Saturday at around 6pm when they were heading towards Gauri Kund. Their phones have been unreachable since then. “I went to Dehradun this morning to gather some information but had to return from the airport without any information,” she added.

In a similar case, Surendra Singh Rawat, 45, a central government official is stranded in Kedarnath with his family. Rawat, along with his wife Soni (39), daughters Pooja (16) and Divya (15), and son Aditya (8) had left Delhi for a pilgrimage on Saturday.

“They had called me on Saturday evening after they reached the Kedarnath temple. However, I haven’t been able to get in touch with them since then,” said Virendra Rawat, Surendra’s brother.

“They were supposed to return on Monday. Initially, I had thought that since all roads are closed due to rain and landslides, they are getting late. However, we began to get worried as the situation worsened in the hills,” said Virendra. “I have been trying to call the official helpline since Monday but haven’t been able to get through to them yet.”