A doctor and a retired headmistress from Coimbatore district, who went on a pilgrimage, are stranded at a hill camp in Uttarakhand. Both of them are unable to reach the base camp in Dharchula, as the roads have been washed away in the floods.
The two pilgrims, Chandramathi, a doctor from Edayarpalayam on Thadagam road and Thilagavathi Shanmugasundaram, a retired headmistress of Corporation SRP Ammaniammal Girl’s Higher Secondary School in RS Puram, started their pilgrimage from New Delhi on June 13.
They were part of a 24-member team, led by Swami Balananda of Sri Vallimalai, and their tour was organised by Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), a Government of Uttarkhand Enterprise.
“They began their seven day tour on June 13 from Delhi and reached the Gala camp on Sunday. By then the rains left the team stranded at the Gala camp,” said Dr Alalasundaram, husband of Chandramathi, adding, “They could not return to the base camp at Dharchula, 20 km below the Gala camp. All roads have been destroyed. Only option left to rescue the pilgrims is to airlift them.”
Worried over the pilgrim’s safety, Alalasundaram and Shanmugasundaram met the Coimbatore collector M Karunakaran who informed the Chief Minister’s cell.