These pals in Pune want to be 'in the lap of the gods' again

As eight friends from Alandi Devachi spent an entire night on a mountain road about 15 km away Uttarkashi and watched a landslide in progress barely 300 mts from where they stood, they hugged each other and decided to call their families for one final time, just in case.

“People were huddled on one corner of the road, everyone around was crying. Most people were senior citizens and we were the youngest trying to keep everyone’s spirits up. As we watched the landslide crushing cars and the river below with tides as high as 30-40 ft, we thought that we might or might not make it,” Datta Temghire said.

District gathers details about 321 Pune tourists 

The disaster management cell at district collectorate has so far gathered information about 321 tourists from Pune that are stranded in Uttarakhand. Fifty-three have returned home safely.

The officials have made it clear that the figure will keep changing as it is difficult to ascertain the exact number of tourists from a particular area stranded at various places in Uttarakhand. 

According to the cell, there are 54 tourists from Pune whom neither their relatives nor any of the government machinery has succeeded in contacting them so far. 

“The rescue operations at Gourikund began on Friday, but the government machinery has not been in a position to launch rescue operations at other places,” resident deputy collector Anil Pawar said.

The cell has recorded the details of 321 tourists received either through a phone call from a relative or a friend. The information about those who told about the tourists have also been maintained so that they can be contacted later. Pawar said that as per the available information all the tourists from Pune are safe. 

The group had left Pune on June 12 and reached Haridwar the next day. After crossing Yamunotri, they got stuck in a traffic jam near Pipal Mandi while on the way to Gangotri.

“It had been raining since afternoon and by evening the downpour picked up. We had to spend the entire night at that spot. About 200 m of a long stretch of road was swept away making the Chamba ghat inaccessible. The Army started rebuilding the road and we sought refuge in a nearby village,” said Sudhir Pandhare.

For three nights and four days, the group stayed in that house until the roads were repaired. “We then started for Rishikesh but the sight was horrifying. People dead, houses broken, no electricity and roads swept away by landslides. We could actually feel the road giving way under our Jeep’s tyres,” Temghire said.

After reaching Rishikesh, the friends took two cars to reach the New Delhi airport and catch a Pune flight.

Despite witnessing the destruction, the friends are adamant to go back to complete their journey.

“Every year we visit a Hindu pilgrim place and this year the trip was incomplete. But we shall go back to visit Badrinath and Kedarnath as soon as the permission is granted by local authorities,” said Uttam Bhosale, another member of the group.

Flood of calls

PCMC received over 300 calls in the past 48 hours, said disaster management cell chief Omprakash Bahiwal. The huge number of calls from anxious relatives is making it difficult for officials to maintain call records.

PMC helpline

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Willpower kept us going, say citizens

Displaying their never-say-die attitude, several survivors of Uttarakhand natural calamity are ready to continue their tour of other cities of north India.

Amol Patil from Moshi, who was stuck at Burkot in the middle of Gangotri and Yamunotri, told dna that now when he has reached Delhi he wants to continue his trip and visit Mathura, Vrindavan, Agra and Delhi.

Speaking to dna over the phone from the Capital, Patil said, “Our group of 37 people, including senior citizens, was saved by the God’s grace. The elders thought that they might be unable to make such a long journey. Now that we have survived the nature’s fury, why not continue the scheduled tour.”

Patil, who is travelling with his three-year-old daughter Samruddhi said, “We had to spend nights without food and camp in the open. Watching the devastation that rains brought did not dampen our spirits. It was our willpower that kept us going and continue our way back from Haridwar and Hrishikesh. We saw localites distributing food packets, snacks and cold drinks to children for free. They have even set up langars for stranded tourists.”

Madhav More of Shirdi, a real estate agent who had come down to Delhi from Kedarnath said, “We were camping at a dharmashala after having the darshan at Kedarnath on June 14 when the district administration announced the meteorological department’s warning about heavy rains. We moved towards Gaurikund in the dawn following the advice from local residents and the Army.”

“As we were moving ahead, we saw the dharmashala we were camping in, collapsing. Nearly 300 cars and other lodges were swept away in the gushing waters,” More said.

“After reaching Gaurikund, one of the hotel owners, who had lost everything in the floods, told us to stay with him in his house. His house at Rampur was a safe place. We stayed there for two days. We got that refuge after climbing the hills and walking for nearly 40-50 km,” he said, alleging that the district administration ignored the warnings of weathermen.

100 tourists from twin town rescued to safety

Many residents of Pimpri-Chinchwad breathed a sigh of relief on Friday when 100 tourists from the twin town, who were stranded in flood-hit Uttarakhand, reached Haridwar safely. Arrangements are made to bring them home.

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) disaster management cell chief Omprakash Bahiwal said, “About 190 people from the twin town who were stranded in the hilly state have been moved to Dehradun and Uttarkashi. We are keeping their relatives here updated about their whereabouts through phones.”

Bahiwal said that the PCMC helpline received calls from the US and Germany on Friday.