Pune, June 29, 2013: Eighty Puneites who were on a pilgrimage to Char Dham in Uttarakhand returned safely to the city on June 24.

City-based Jayashree Travels, which organised the trip, acted judiciously by returning with the devotees when the situation started deteriorating in that hilly state. 

“We left Pune on June 11, and reached Uttarkashi on June 15. We were experiencing torrential rains for over two days. The local police and other authorities warned us from going to Haridwar. We decided to stop our journey and stay at Uttarkashi till the road cleared for us to return,” said one of the survivors, Dinesh Aggarwal.

Director of Jayashree travels, Raajjhesh Deshpande, who had accompanied the group claimed that thousands are still stranded in Uttarakhand and the local authorities are working overtime to rescue them.

“After this incident, we have now decided that for all such pilgrimages in the northern parts of the country where the terrain is tough, we will first do the registration of the group with the Zilla Parishad. We will only take tourists who are physically fit and demand that they get themselves insured for at least Rs 10 lakh,” added Deshpande.

According to him he has been touring Uttarakhand every year. 

“I have seen new hotels and resorts coming up there each year. For construction purposes there has been deforestation in that region. This environmental degradation has cost us this time. We have seen  how three-storeyed hotels, set up close to the river banks, were washed away in the flood waters,” he recalled.

Source: Sakal Times, DT. June 29, 2013.