When Eastern Railway employee Sutirtha Mitra (34) had set out for Uttarakhand from his Howrah home about 10 days ago, he was looking forward to a trip full of fun and adventure. Little did he know that the trip will turn out to be one of the worst nightmares of his life. Along with seven friends, members of the Howrah District Trekkers’ and Mountaineers Association, Mitra had set out for a trekking expedition in Gangotri.
After the team reached Kalindi Pass near Basukital on September 16, two of the team members fell ill and five of the group retreated and reached Uttarakhand on the night of September 17. Since then, they have got stuck in Uttarkashi as all the national and state highways are closed because of incessant rains and landslides.
“Three members of our group Anal Das, team leader M P Rao and Arun Adak are still missing. A 3 km-stretch of road has been completely destroyed by the landslide. We have not been able to contact them since 16th. We have sent a letter to the district magistrate of Uttarkashi and the Disaster Management group of Dehradun. All of them have said the search teams will be sent tomorrow,” Mitra told The Indian Express from Uttarkashi on phone. His wife and six-year old son are anxiously waiting for him to return to his home at Dumurjola in Howrah.
Mitra is one of the 13 tourists from Bengal who have been stuck in different parts of Uttaranchal for last four days, since the state and national highways got closed because of rain and landslide. “We are trying to find a list of all the Bengal tourists who have gone missing. We are in constant touch with the UP government regarding those who are stuck or missing,” said A Bose, liaison officer of the West Bengal government in Delhi.
“The tourists are safe, no one is sick or injured. We are dropping food and medicines whenever and wherever required. There is no casualty. The primary and secondary schools are being used as shelters by the tourists,” Piyush Routela, the managing director of the Disaster Management board of the Uttarakhand government told The Indian Express from Dehradun. There is no mobile connectivity. Even landlines are not working at Chamoli district where Badrinath is located, he said.
After the team reached Kalindi Pass near Basukital on September 16, two of the team members fell ill and five of the group retreated and reached Uttarakhand on the night of September 17. Since then, they have got stuck in Uttarkashi as all the national and state highways are closed because of incessant rains and landslides.
“Three members of our group Anal Das, team leader M P Rao and Arun Adak are still missing. A 3 km-stretch of road has been completely destroyed by the landslide. We have not been able to contact them since 16th. We have sent a letter to the district magistrate of Uttarkashi and the Disaster Management group of Dehradun. All of them have said the search teams will be sent tomorrow,” Mitra told The Indian Express from Uttarkashi on phone. His wife and six-year old son are anxiously waiting for him to return to his home at Dumurjola in Howrah.
Mitra is one of the 13 tourists from Bengal who have been stuck in different parts of Uttaranchal for last four days, since the state and national highways got closed because of rain and landslide. “We are trying to find a list of all the Bengal tourists who have gone missing. We are in constant touch with the UP government regarding those who are stuck or missing,” said A Bose, liaison officer of the West Bengal government in Delhi.
“The tourists are safe, no one is sick or injured. We are dropping food and medicines whenever and wherever required. There is no casualty. The primary and secondary schools are being used as shelters by the tourists,” Piyush Routela, the managing director of the Disaster Management board of the Uttarakhand government told The Indian Express from Dehradun. There is no mobile connectivity. Even landlines are not working at Chamoli district where Badrinath is located, he said.
http://www.indianexpress.com
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