KARWAR: A family of 10 from Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district who were on a pilgrimage to Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand escaped unhurt in a landslide in Vishuprayag, Chamoli district, on Friday afternoon. The family passed the spot just a few minutes before the landslide occurred. The family, like several other pilgrims, are now stranded in Badrinath as the highway was closed to traffic till Sunday.
The 60m-wide Rishikesh-Badrinath highway was blocked with boulders and mud that had rolled down the hills. Traffic between Joshimath and Badrinath was blocked and hundereds of devotees were stranded on both sides.
“We were travelling to Badrinath from Joshimath on Friday. As our vehicle moved past a hill in Vishuprayag, I saw boulders and mud rolling down on to the highway,” Ravi Soori told Express over the phone. He was travelling with his wife, children, sister and her children. The family was on a pilgrimage to ‘Chota Char Dham’ (Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath) since May 10. They were headed to Badrinath to complete their trip.
“We are safe in Badrinath. I have spoken to the Principal Secretary from Bengaluru and Karnataka Bhavan officials from Delhi and they are assisting us. We have booked our return tickets for May 23,” said Ravi.
Pilgrims stranded
Nearly 100 pilgrims from Karnataka are stranded in these two places. A few of them were scheduled to return to the state by train on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, but they are now stuck.
Sources said debris on the highway was mostly cleared but vehicles have not been allowed to use the road. Officials said they will start letting vehicles on the road by Sunday morning.
Shambhulingappa of Karnataka Bhavan, New Delhi, said, “We received calls from two groups of pilgrims who are stranded in Badrinath. There are about 35 people from Karnataka. We have spoken to officials of Chamoli district administration and have taken all measures for the safe return of our pilgrims.”
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had directed Chief Secretary Subhash Khuntia to instruct the Delhi resident commissioner to take up appropriate measures. Khuntia said the ground situation was improving. “I spoke to the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary and he told me that people were stranded in Badrinath, but they had places to stay and all other facilities like food, water and electricity were available.”
“Travelling out of Badrinath was the problem, but the road was cleared by Saturday evening. Since the situation is not as bad as we feared, we decided not to send a team,” he said.
All emergency numbers are active and the Karnataka Bhavan in Delhi has been instructed to provide assistance to whoever reaches out to them.
While no details are available with the government about the exact number of people from Karnataka who are stuck in Badrinath-Rudraprayag area, a total of 12,000 people are said to be stranded.