Bengaluru, May 30 (DHNS): About 150 pilgrims from Karnataka, including two seers, were stranded at the Ghansali area of Tehri district in Uttarakhand after cloudbursts wreaked havoc in the region.

The state’s emergency control room (1070) is in constant touch with the officials in Uttarakhand. Officials confirmed that till Sunday night they had received four calls from the relatives of the pilgrims who have been stranded. However, there were no casualties and all efforts were being made for the safe return of the pilgrims.

Officials in touch“We are in constant touch with officials in Uttarakhand. All the pilgrims are safe. A few locals in Uttarakhand were washed away and officials have confirmed that there was no danger to the tourists. All the tourists from the state are in a hotel and since a bridge has collapsed, they may have to stay in the hotel for some time,” a government official said.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has also asked the officials to make all efforts for the safe return of pilgrims.

Officials in the state control room told DH that they got calls from Tumkur, Dharwad, Belagavi and Bengaluru. The calls were from the relatives of nine pilgrims from Tumkur, 12 from Dharwad and Belagavi apart from a batch of 14 from Bengaluru.
Yogesh H R, who works for Bescom, was among the 14 people from Bengaluru stranded in Tehri district. His brother Rajesh H R, a resident of Nagarbhavi, told DH that his brother and 13 others left for Char Dham, an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit, on May 25.

The group includes 11 women and two senior citizens, he said. “We received the last call at 6 am on Sunday. Yogesh said that they had to stay inside the hotel due to rough weather. Our repeated attempts to reach him over phone later in the day went in vain. There seems to be breakdown in mobile network,” he said.