Eluru, June 24, 2013: It’s a second life for the K. Krishna Rao couple based in Puri in Odisha who arrived here on Sunday by a special train after they were stranded in the flood-hit Uttar Kasi for five days to back home with the haunting memories of scare and horror.

They were part of a 35-member entourage who all went on a pilgrimage to Kedarnath and Badrinath from Jangareddygudem on June 5. The family of Mr. Krishna Rao hailing from West Godavari district and a settler at Puri, was invited to join the trip by his friends and relatives. “It all happened when we were on our return journey after visiting Kedarnath and Badrinath. A bridge near Gangotri caved in due to flashfloods minutes after our tourist bus crossed it on our way back to Uttar Kasi. When we reached Uttar Kasi, a district headquarters town in Uttarakhand, road transport was cut off”, recalled Mr. Srinivasa Rao.

He and his wife spent five days in the tourist bus along with some of their companions at the bus stand. Some of the tourists were lucky enough to find accommodation in a lodge.

“We saw multi-storied complexes collapse like a pack of cards right in front of our eyes due to the deluge and the death literally dancing before us. We were lucky because our lodge was intact”, B. Srinivasa Rao, a jewellery shop owner from Jangareddygudem recalled with a sigh of relief. M. Chandini, a B.Tech final year student from the same town said they were all left with no money and the ATMs in the area ran out of cash.

Their mobiles also went out of charge to communicate to the family members about their plight.

The mobiles could not be recharged due to the failure of power supply, she explained. The traders had a field day with a bucket of water selling at Rs. 50 and cup of coffee Rs. 20-Rs. 30.

They all thanked the Indian Army for its rescue operations.

Source: The Hindu, DT. June 24, 2013.