Blood is thicker than water

Angry and bitter with the government’s pathetic efforts to rescue people stranded in Uttarakhand, 15 people from Pune have gone to Uttarakhand to bring back their 71 relatives. They claim those  who have been rescued are in a bad state as they are neither getting adequate food nor medical aid from the Uttarakhand government. 

Speaking to dna, coordinator Shashikant Potale said, “The rescued people have been sent to medical camps in Haridwar. However, there are no doctors  to treat them. We have got a list of 71 people so far but we’ve managed to contact only 18 of them. The 18 are in a bad state with no medical aid. What’s more, they haven’t had food for 24 hours.” Patole claimed that senior citizens who are diabetic and have high blood pressure are the worst hit. “The local government is not helping them. Also, locals have robbed them and they do not have money. We have sent volunteers from Pune to bring them back.”

People are stranded in Guptkashi, Haridwar and Dehradun. “It has been a very difficult period. For the last three days we had been walking in the rains. There was not a single place where we could take shelter. My father, Balasaheb Dashrat Gaikwad has been missing for the last five days,” said Parmila Phalke, 48, of Bhugaon, who is stranded in Guptkashi. “Army helicopters are dropping a handful of foodgrains to thousands of people. I haven’t had a proper meal for more than a week due and I feel very weak. Now I cannot even move. We’re  not getting any government help.”

Vishwas Tupe who was stranded and walked 48 kms to reach Son Prayag said, “I thought instead of waiting for help, I should help myself. I started walking in dense forest and in knee deep water and reached Son Prayag. There was no help whatsoever from the government.”

Pradeep Khedekar, who left Pune on Sunday morning and reached Dehradun in the evening in search of his relative, said, “Our aim is to bring all our relatives home as soon as possible. We will send them back by air as they cannot travel by train. Once this is done, we will look for other missing people.”