AMRITSAR: Religious organizations have come forward to extend a helping hand to devotees stranded on their pilgrimage to Hemkunt Sahib and Kedarnath in calamity hit Uttrakhand. 

While both the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) have already dispatched relief material, Sri Durgiana Committee has called for an emergency meeting on Thursday to send its team to help the people braving one of the worst natural catastrophes. President of DSGMC, Manjit Singh GK told TOI that DSGMC has airlifted medicines and blankets to devotees stranded at Gagaria which was the last stopover on way to Hemkunt Sahib.

 He informed that DSGMC had also hired a helicopter which would begin rescue operations from Thursday. "We have completed all the formalities and now we are waiting for the permission from government and hopefully we will begin lifting stranded devotees from tomorrow" said he while adding that the devotees would be airlifted from Gagaria to Joashimath. GK said he would lead a team of senior office bearers of DSGMC to Dehradun to monitor the rescue operations. "We will ensure that nothing is left on chances and everything required is provided to the passengers". There were around 4000 devotees stranded in Gagaria. 

He said DSGMC had also sent 12 buses to bring back devotees from Joshimath ."The devotees would be dropped wherever they would want to," said GK. SGPC has already sent a 10 member medical team including 5 doctors informed Additional Secretary SGPC, DS Bedi. 

He said they had also dispatched 2 truckloads of ration and other relief material from Amritsar and Sri Anandpur Sahib. "Truckloads of ration would be dispatched to affected areas from Kurukshetra, Jind, Nada Sahib and other Gurdwara" said he. He said the SGPC would seek help of local administration to airlift the ration and relief material to the affected persons. 

"We don't have exact number of people in trouble but we have reports that thousands of devotees who are on pilgrimage to Sri Hemkunt Sahib and Kedarnath are stranded and are in urgent need of help" he said. General Secretary Sri Durgiana Committee Ramesh Sharma said they had convened an emergency meeting of SDC's executive body on Thursdays and would immediately send a team with ration, medicines and other relief material to the affected areas of Uttrakhand.