As many as 83 pilgrims from Tamil Nadu who were stranded in Uttarakhand arrived here safely on Friday by an Air India flight chartered by the State government. Another batch of 119 pilgrims are expected to reach here soon.
Along with the pilgrims’ kin, who were waiting anxiously for them at the airport, Transport Minister V Senthil Balaji and Tourism Minister S P Shanmuganathan also accorded them a warm welcome. A majority of devotees who arrived—67 of them—were from Chennai; the rest belonged to Tirunelveli (2), Virudhunagar (9), Krishnagiri (3), Coimbatore (1), and Thanjavur (1). The government chartered four AC buses to drop those from the city at their homes and the others at Koyambedu bus terminus. “Conveyance expenses of the pilgrims bound for other districts is being borne by the government,” an official said.
The devotees had been given lunch and refreshments and were accommodated at TN House in Delhi. On arrival, they thanked
CM J Jayalalithaa for the swift arrangements made to bring them back home.
Speaking to Express from Delhi, a senior TN official said 119 more pilgrims had arrived at TN House. “They have been given accommodation and we are taking care of them. As soon as we work out the logistics, they will be sent to Chennai by air,” the official said. About the rest of the pilgrims, he said: “We are making all efforts to bring every one of them here [Delhi] safely. We are in touch with officials in Uttarakhand and have publicised the helpline numbers for TN pilgrims.”