CUDDALORE: Thirteen of the 30 pilgrims rescued from the Uttarakhand landslides arrived at Chidambaram on Tuesday night, the relatives of the pilgrims informed Tamil Nadu Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister MRK Panneerselvam and Cuddalore Collector Sibi Adhithya Senthil Kumar.
The pilgrims who reached Chidambaram on Tuesday had flown to Chennai at their own expense, from there travelled to Chidambaram in two cars. Thirteen more devotees are en route to Chennai via train, expected to reach by Wednesday night, the expenses for which were borne by the state. Two devotees had gone to Hyderabad and two to Bangalore by flight to stay with their relatives.
The 30 people from Chidambaram had gone on a pilgrimage to Adi Kailash Yatra on September 1. K Kanagarajan, who led the group, said, "Due to heavy rain, we were asked to stay in Dharchula for four days before proceeding to Adi Kailash. On our return, we got stuck in a landslide and stayed at Narayana Ashram, where there was no electricity or network connectivity. Later, we got stuck again in Pauthi when our vehicle ran out of fuel, and we stayed with the local villagers."
He added that they informed their relatives in Chidambaram about their situation. "Thanks to the efforts of the Tamil Nadu government, army personnel rescued us by helicopter on September 14. After reaching Delhi, we stayed at Tamil Nadu House. As some of us were in a hurry to return home, we flew to Chennai and arrived on Tuesday."