Over 142 pilgrims belonging to Krishna district are stranded in Uttrakhand and are cut off from all means of communication with their family members according to reports reaching here.

Four members of a group of 30 people from Machilipatnam, who were stranded in Uttrakhand, on Friday returned home.

The four are K. Durga Prasad (52) and a three-member family – K. Srinivasa Rao (51), K. Hemalatha and their eight-year daughter Sudha Rani.

The district authorities have already provided the details of the stranded devotees to the Disaster Mitigation Centres (DMCs), set up at Haridwar and Dehradun. “We have no clue about the status of these 142 people from the district. There was also no information whether they were missing or stranded in disaster-struck areas,” District Revenue Officer L. Vijaya Chander told reporters.

Mr. Vijaya Chander was in touch with National Disaster Management authorities in New Delhi as well as the State government.

Most of the devotees, who returned safely to their home town, did not even inform about missing of their co-travellers or friends at New Delhi and people relied on the local helpline, which was set up at the Collectorate in Machilipatnam.

Helpline

However, complaints are being received on helpline phone numbers 08672-252572 or 0866-2576217 or 08672-252486. More details about the status of the stranded pilgrims can be had from phone numbers 09810981293 or 09871990081 or 09999989796.

CPI(M)’s plea

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Vijayawada, secretary Ch. Babu Rao has requested the district administration to speed up the process of finding out the whereabouts of pilgrims who went missing.

The officials have been requested to make necessary arrangements and up date information about the pilgrims stranded there to their relatives in the district, he said. Ex-gratia should be extended to the bereaved family members, he added.

Source: The Hindu