New Delhi, June 26, 2013:“I lost two of my mules at Kedarnath and I still have to pay a debt of Rs. 1 lakh for the two,” said Pappu Chaudhary who had purchased two mules to put them to work in Kedarnath valley during the Char Dham season in the valley.

Mr. Chaudhary’s mules would carry people for 14 km from Gaurikund to the Kedarnath temple in Rudraprayag district.

This stretch earned Mr. Chaudhary good money every year, at least in June when the crowd in the Kedarnath valley reached its peak.

“Everything is over,” Mr. Chaudhary said showing the list of bills that the pilgrims owe him.

“I don’t know where these people are. I have incurred great loss, Mr. Chaudhay said, as most of his customers were either swept away in the flood that hit the Kedarnath valley on June 17, or they were lost.

At Kedarnath and the nearby valley, when a flood hit the area on June 17 morning, thousands of mules and horses were either swept away or were killed under the debris.

More than 5,000 mules and horses were present in the area on June 17.

Mr. Chaudhary earned around Rs. 1 lakh a month during the peak season. At off season, the earnings would drastically reduce to Rs. 10,000 a month.

Suresh Kumar, who had employed horses in the Kedarnath valley said, “These horses were used not only for carrying people but also for carrying ration, water bottles, and other such materials for the shops and hotels from Gaurikund to the Kedarnath valley.”

Mr. Kumar said carrying people in the 14 km stretch earned him Rs. 1,100 per person and dropping food earned him Rs. 600 for one round between Gaurikund and the Kedarnath temple.

Mr. Chaudhary reached Rudraprayag after five days of struggle and survival at Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district.

He, too, was in the valley when the flood hit the area.

Mr. Chaudhary said only on Sunday did his mules get proper food to eat. For almost five days they would feeding on mere grass.

Mr. Chaudhary’s relatives too do the same business in the Kedarnath valley.

With no possibility of making a living in the disaster-struck Kedarnath valley anymore, these porters are now left with no other choice than to use these mules on construction sites.

Prem, another porter who had some mules working in the Kedarnath valley said, “I paid Rs. 28,000 to the owner of an empty land to tie my mules and put a tent for myself. Now all that money is wasted as I could not stay in Kedarnath for the entire season.”

Dilip Singh Negi, a resident of Baswada in Rudraprayag district said, “The mules, horses, and cattle are lying stranded in the Kedarnath valley. There is no one to rescue them. I have little hope that anyone will go to save them.”

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