CHENNAI: As many as 30 Tamil pilgrims on the Adhikailash Yatra, who were stranded due to landslides in Uttarakhand, were rescued by helicopters and brought to Darchula, in Pithorogarh district in the state on Sunday, through the efforts of Tamil Nadu government.
The group, hailing from Chidambaram taluk in Cuddalore, will soon reach New Delhi and board a flight to TN from there. The Uttarakhand government said the pilgrims had been rescued without any injuries, and were provided shelter at a relief camp where they were given food and water.
An official release here stated that Chief Minister M K Stalin had telephoned the stranded Tamils and assured they would be rescued safely. Senior TN government officials were in touch with the Uttarakhand government regarding the rescue. The Cuddalore district administration had also contacted the Pithorogarh district administration to monitor the rescue operations.
The 30 pilgrims had originally planned to reach Uttarakhand by train. However, after trains were cancelled due to heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, they opted to fly to Delhi on September 1 and continue their journey to Uttarakhand by road.
“While returning after the darshan, they got stranded around 18km from Adi Kailash, due to the landslide. They were unable to move from the spot as they had also run out of fuel. They were able to stay in an ashram for two days before being rescued by helicopters on Sunday,” said Dr Thillai Nayagam, a Chidambaram resident whose wife Umarani was among the stranded.
Group will soon board flight to TN from Delhi
The group, hailing from Chidambaram taluk in Cuddalore, will soon reach New Delhi and board a flight to TN from there. The Uttarakhand government said the pilgrims had been rescued without any injuries, and given shelter at a relief camp.