New Delhi, June 26, 2013: For the beleaguered pilgrims trapped in the hills of Uttarakhand, it was a matter of life and death as they encountered an unprecedented hike in food prices and hotel tariffs. For Anil Kumar from Panipat, his trip to Kedarnath turned out to be a nightmarish experience as he and his friends were trapped at a hotel in Sitapur. But it was a blessing in disguise for them, as they decided not to travel to Kedarnath where nature’s fury was at its worst.

“I reached Sitapur on June 14 and could not proceed further as there was a massive traffic jam towards the road leading to Kedarnath, which bore the brunt of heavy rainfall and floods. Though houses in Sitapur were not swept away, our condition became uncertain as the hotel proprietor hiked the room tariff from Rs.2,800 to Rs.3,700 per night. For the first three days, the government had made no arrangements.”

To exacerbate their vulnerable situation, a packet of instant noodles was astronomically priced at Rs. 500 and a plate of rice with watery dal was sold for Rs. 100.

Jagdeep, who frequents Dehra Dun for work and was there till June 23, said the situation was extremely grim but survivors had a ray of hope in the Army and the Air Force. “Initially, the State government seemed ill-equipped to handle this crisis. After an earthquake rocked the Chamoli district in 1999, the powers-that-be set up a Natural Disaster Committee which had put in place a contingency plan. A budget was allocated to meet emergency situations but there have been rumours floating around that money was not sufficiently utilised in this tragedy,” Jagdeep said.

‘Waiting anxiously’

Hailing from Wardha district of Maharashtra, Lunkaran Taori along with his wife Chhaya Taori and a group of friends had gone on a weeklong trip to Uttarakhand.

“Our trip began on June 11. We travelled to Yamunotriand Gangotri and in Hardwar we booked a cab but just when we were to proceed to Kedarnath, the situation became grim and the traffic jam made us abandon our travel plan. Though we survived, we are still waiting anxiously for the survival of six people from Wardha, who are still missing.”

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