'To save our lives, we had to climb the hills'

As many as 22 people of an Art of Living group from Pimpri-Chinchwad, who are trapped in Uttarakhand floods near Ongi Manera, 14 km from Kashi had to climb the hills to save themselves as there were no roads to travel on.

“Everything was washed away by the floods. There were no roads to travel on. Even the elderly had to climb the height as there were no options,” 

Vinayak Kulkarni, one of the pilgrims, told dna on the phone. 

The group had left for Uttarakhand and Kashi on May 12.

The group members were between the ages of 20 and 70 years. 

“The young people helped the elderly climb the mountains. We had to walk for as much as six hours to save our lives,” said Kulkarni.

The group left behind all their luggage as it would have created problems in escaping to safety. 

They also could not contact their families and inform them of their condition. 

Kulkarni added, “It was even difficult to charge phones and our only priority was to save our lives.”

Vasant Sanap, Art of Living teacher in this group, who is in Pune, said, “From Tuesday morning we have been receiving SMSes about their safety.” Sanap said most of the members went on the trip along with their families.

Some members of the group contacted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Bala Bhegade and MLA Vilas Lande to get help from the state government. 

Lande said they have informed Union minister Sharad Pawar in this regard.

Next trip cancelled

The second batch of Art of Living group who were to visit Uttarakhand and Kashi next month, is likely to be cancelled due to recent floods, officials of Sumeru Travels informed dna.