Kurnool, June 28, 2013: Five Char Dham pilgrims who were stranded in the Uttarakhand hilly slopes due to torrential rain and flood returned home on Wednesday night.

D. Srinivasulu Setty, wife Suvarnamma, Anand and two others went in a group on pilgrimage to Uttarakhand.

The group which hailed from One Town in the city was stranded at Gourikund and had no way to proceed and had no shelter either.

The group had narrowly escaped death and managed to reach the elevated places on the hills. But the real woes started after they got struck on the hills.

No food to eat and the biting cold almost numbed their bodies.

The language problem compounded their troubles as they could not communicate their problems. It was by sheer providence that they returned home safely, Srinivasulu and his wife said.

He said after trekking the 15 km distance in the valleys they reached a transit point but the authorities promised to take them to only Dehradun and from there the pilgrims were expected to travel on their own.

The situation changed only after TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu reached the place, demanded amenities for pilgrims and arranged flight for them. TDP district president Somisetty Venkateswarlu met the victims and consoled them. The pilgrims said the TDP leaders followed up with them until the team reached home.

Source: The Hindu, DT. June 28, 2013.