Puducherry, June 26, 2013: The return of pilgrims who had gone to Uttarakhand is likely to be delayed owing to landslips between Chamoli and Rishikesh due to heavy rain.

When contacted about the progress of rescuing a group of stranded Puducherry pilgrims who are at Harsil in an army tent, K.R. Meena, Resident Commissioner, told The Hindu from Dehradun that the airlifting operation in the valley, which was suspended on Monday owing to heavy rain, resumed in the afternoon on Tuesday. Since there were only 250 pilgrims at Harsil waiting for helicopter, chances of earlier evacuation had brightened up. If the weather is stable, they would be airlifted by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.

However, he said the task of transporting them from Chamoli to Rishikesh by road was expected to take more time because of landslips at least in three places. The road, which was repositioned about three days ago, had again suffered extensive damage. He had received reports that the local administration had begun the task of setting right the road on a war-footing.

Whatever might be the situation, steps had been taken to provide shelter, food and medicine to the Puducherry pilgrims, he added.

Source: The Hindu, DT. June 26, 2013.