1K Telangana pilgrims travelled to Amarnath since July 1

61 injured from Andhra Pradesh shifted to Army hospitals; so far no Telugu citizens named among the casualties
Army soldiers carry an injured pilgrim who was evacuated from the flash flood area near the Amarnath cave shrine by helicopter, at Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district of Central Kashmir, on July 9,
Army soldiers carry an injured pilgrim who was evacuated from the flash flood area near the Amarnath cave shrine by helicopter, at Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district of Central Kashmir, on July 9,

HYDERABAD: Over a 1,000 pilgrims from Telangana are believed to have travelled to Amarnath shrine in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir since July 1. While there is no official confirmation about any casualties from the State in the tragedy which unfolded right outside the cave shrine on Friday evening, the National Disaster Response Force operating the helpline informed Express that all the pilgrims who were stranded at the shrine have been rescued and shifted to Srinagar.

According to the operator of the helpline, as on Saturday evening, 21 pilgrims who went missing after the cloudburst at the shrine were found alive, and there were 61 persons (mostly from East Godavari district) from Andhra Pradesh who were injured, were shifted to various Army hospitals including the nearest one in Baltal. He, however, said that the official list of the deceased was yet to be released.

Arvind, a tour operator from amarnathjiyatra.com tells Express that pilgrims from AP and Telangana combined, form 30 per cent of those visiting Amarnath for 42 days starting July 1. According to him, pilgrims are not usually allowed to camp right outside the cave, where the incident happened.

“Only those stuck near the cave after getting detached from their group, officials, those holding langars and sadhus stay in the tents there. We make sure all the pilgrims are taken back to the camp at Panchtarni where the helipad is located. Rescue efforts are still on, and identifying the deceased and those who went missing could take time,” he said.

RFID to track pilgrims
RFID tags have been issued by authorities this time to track devotees, which would help them identify and get accurate information of each and every devotee, which could take some time.The tour operator also says that there was a plan to set up a helipad near the cave to directly drop and pick up pilgrims to avoid the treacherous journey from Panchkarni.

Raja Singh’s narrow escape
BJP MLA T Raja Singh and his family members had a narrow escape from the tragedy during their visit to the Amarnath shrine on Friday.Describing the tragedy which unfolded in front of his eyes, he told media that he and his family members had just finished their darshan and were 2 km away from the cave, while returning back to Panchtarni, they suddenly experienced heavy rain. In no time, the tents and the people inside them located right in front of the gigantic cave were washed away in the heavy flow. “It was tragic and scary. The Army personnel escorted us back to safety,” he said.

PILGRIMS RECOUNT HORROR: ‘TENTS NEAR CAVE WERE WASHED AWAY AS WE WATCHED’
Hyderabad:
Pilgrims from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh who got a second life after escaping from the tents which got washed away in the Amarnath cloudburst recounted the horrific scenes. Speaking with the media on Saturday, a couple from Telangana said that they had just finished their darshan and reached the tents located outside the cave to take their mobiles and bags. “It was raining the entire time during the darshan. We had just come back to one of the tents and I was taking a nap, when my husband woke me up and dragged me out of the tent which was being washed away. I was saved but another person in that tent was washed away and died,” said a woman. The pilgrims recalled how they were asked by the tent operators to run for their safety all of sudden. “We thought it was rainfall as usual. But, all of a sudden big chunks of earth along with heavy flow of water came down on the tents, washing away 15-20 tents and the people inside them.”

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