Pilgrims stranded in Badrinath evacuated safely

Nearly 42 pilgrims from Ganjam, stranded near Badrinath have since been evacuated safely, a release from the Office of the Chief Minister here said Sunday evening.

The release said, upon receiving information from the Chief Minister’s Office around 9.00 AM the office of Chief Resident Commissioner (CRC) in New Delhi immediately activated control room for monitoring the situation and taking necessary action.

 CRC’s office immediately contacted Additional Resident Commissioner of Uttarakhand and asked her to take needful action and also informed the authorities concerned for safe evacuation from Badrinath and movement to their place of stay (Pipalkoti).

They were accommodated in a Dharmasala at Badrinath.

The CRC office also contacted SDM Y Singh and requested to ensure safety and provide relief measures to these pilgrims.

According to CMO, the situation was continuously monitored from the control room of CRC’s office which also contacted the stranded persons of Odisha and informed them that road opening party is continuously working to ensure that it is opened by noon.

Later, discussions were held with SDM of the area who organized the food and ensured its service at Dharmasala.

Necessary measures were taken by the concerned Uttarakhand District Administration to provide food, water, medicine (as requested by the Collector, Ganjam) and continued accommodation till clearance of the road and departure by bus.

Notably, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a statement that he has spoken to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat for ensuring the safety of the stranded pilgrims.