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DEHRA DUN, July 8, 2004: All the 1,600 pilgrims stranded for the past two days in Badrinath area due to landslides triggered by a cloudburst have been evacuated SDM, Chamoli district, Sanjay Kumar Singh said on Thursday. Everyone, save 31 waiting for the road to clear to take back their vehicles, have come out of the disaster-hit Badrinath area and were proceeding towards Rishikesh through State roadways buses.



“We have evacuated all the pilgrims safely,” he said. While 45 pilgrims, mostly old and sick,were evacuated by air force MI-17 helicopters on Wednesday, the rest of them trekked through a 3 km-long tunnel as choppers failed to take off due to inclement weather, Singh said. Meanwhile, the State government has sought a relief package of US$21 million from the Centre for management of the disaster. The government in coordination with various departments and agencies was providing all essential items like water, electricity, etc., to the local people in Badrinath area, which was cut-off from the rest of the country due to a cloudburst on Monday night that triggered landslides and floods and claimed 17 lives. “We have made all arrangements for normal supply of basic amenities. A new hydro project of one megawatt will soon start working and food grains, kerosene oil and gas cylinders would be supplied by helicopters or through tunnel by coolies,” said the additional chief secretary.

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