Himalayan tsunami: Of cheers, and tears

When Chinchwad resident Nitin Gurav received a call from his sobbing parents Jayant and Jayshree Gurav from Dehradun helipad, he couldn’t hold back his tears.

For five days Gurav was uncertain whether his parents are safe after they were separated from a group of 70 people they were travelling with. 

“My parents stopped for tea at a spot where my mother wanted to put on socks. By the time they resumed walking, they were told that the road has been closed down because of a landslide,” said Gurav.

For four days, they were stuck at a place called Rampada near Kedarnath without food or water before an army helicopter airlifted them. The couple is now heading towards Delhi.

The couple was travelling with 70 people on a trip organised by Pune’s Shiv Gauri travels. The 68 members are still stranded with 40 members at a camp in Gaurikhund and 28 others at a remote place called Garud Chatriya.

Mumbai resident Dattaray Gaikwad (43) reached Haridwar after a three-day trip from Sonprayag much of which was done on foot. “It was the worst sight of my life when I saw the lodge opposite ours crumble down and we ran towards the mountain from our lodge to save our lives. The next day when we returned, we saw bodies strewn. We survived on biscuits and tea for two days and just carried two pairs of clothes for the rest of the trip,” he said.

Pune’s Amol Patil, who has started from Barkot, is on his way back to Haridwar. “We are enroute to Dehradun but roads are packed. Shops are closed and there is devastation everywhere. We haven’t had a bath for the past few days and no sanitation facility either,” said Patil.

Suket Shah’s parents Praveen Shah and Solochana Shah are still stuck in Badrinath. They are getting meals one time a day but are still in poor condition.

Mohan Sakharkar whose friends have gone to Kedarnath are stuck at Parmarth dham in Badrinath. They have been suffering from fever, cold and cough and have no meals. They are surviving on dry snacks stock which they had carried.

Sakharkar said, “We are trying to provide them relief but since we are completely unknown about their whereabouts because of no communication, it is proving to be difficult.”

Shivraj Choudhary, tour coordinator of Choudhary Yatra, said, “A small group of 12 persons who were stuck at Yamanotri are being brought down to a safer location on horseback. Another group that was stuck near Sonprayag for three days has now managed to reached Haridwar,”