GADAG: In all, 83 people from Karnataka who had gone on a pilgrimage to Amarnath are said to be stranded due to heavy rain and landslides. Of them, 23 are from Gadag. Officials at the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority told The New Sunday Express that as per preliminary information, over 1,000 people are stranded and taking shelter at the Panchtarni Military Base Camp in Amarnath. Of these around 83 are found to be from Karnataka.
On Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s directions, a team of officials, lead by Authority Commissioner P Sunil Kumar, will go to Uttarakhand to take stock of the situation.
“After going to the location, meeting the officials, the stranded citizens and members of the Amarnath Shrine Board, the next course of action will be decided. We spoke to some from Gadag and they said that they have identified over 80 people from Karnataka. We are yet to get the final numbers and details of the rest of the stranded Kannadigas. So far, it is confirmed that they are all safe. All they want is to be evacuated from the location,” Kumar told The New Sunday Express.
Officials said the group from Gadag had gone on the yatra on July 4 and reached Amarnath on July 6. They got stranded as it poured heavily while returning. They also could not get the helicopter service because of the bad weather, officials said.
“The stranded pilgrims spoke to their relatives in Gadag and informed them that they were taking shelter at the base camp.
Due to heavy rain, they have not got any food. An official contacted them over the phone and assured them that Army helicopters will be arranged, once the weather turns normal,” officials said.
One of the relatives in Gadag said the yatris are stranded because of a landslide and heavy rain while they were on their way back.
They were shifted to the military base camp on Friday night, he added. Gadag SP BS Nemagouda said, “A total of 23 people are now stuck at Amarnath. We have contacted the officials concerned in Bengaluru and in Amaranth and they have assured me to help them soon.”