MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has been unable to trace 347 pilgrims and tourists from the state who are stranded in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh due to floods. At least one person from Maharashtra has been confirmed dead. In all, 1,985 people from the state are marooned in the calamity struck regions of the north. 

Gulabi Joshi, a resident of Mangaon village in Raigad district, died of hypothermia near the Kedarnath shrine, an official said. Emergency workers have been unable to reach villages cut off by floods and landslides. 

The stranded pilgrims were on a visit to four holy shrines, popularly known as Char Dham. Most of the pilgrims are from Nagpur, Amravati, Nashik and Pune. A concerned Maharashtra cabinet on Wednesday announced steps to ensure tourists from the state were brought to safety. It will give the Uttarakhand government Rs10 crore, besides rescue and relief assistance. "I want to assure the people of Maharashtra that my government will do everything possible to bring stranded people to safety. I am in touch with officials of the national disaster authority and the chief minister of Uttarakhand," said chief minister Prithviraj Chavan at the end of the weekly cabinet meeting. 

At the meeting, the ministers concerned handed over lists of stranded people from their constituencies and urged rescue teams to do everything possible to trace pilgrims. "When we say 'traced', it means these people have shelter and are in possession of food, along with other requirements. Those who have not been traced are either unable to get in touch with us or we haven't managed to obtain their numbers from tour operators or relatives," a state official said. 

Chavan assured ministers that special flights would be arranged to bring back pilgrims and if need be, free tickets would be provided. "The situation is critical. But we are relived that our rescue teams have managed to contact most of the stranded pilgrims," said a minister. The government has sent a five-member team to the affected areas and set up control rooms in Dehradun and Haridwar. A stand-by team of doctors has been kept ready to be airlifted to the affected areas if required, a government official said.