SAMBALPUR, June 29, 2013: The Rathis of Sambalpur on Friday performed the last rites of 17 of their relatives lost in the Uttarakhand floods. 

Nineteen members of the family had started their journey from Jharsuguda on June 8. They first visited the holy towns of Gangotri and Jamunotri. From there, they reached Kedarnath on June 16 and put up at the Rajasthan guest house near the shrine. They visited the temple in the evening. On the following morning, all hell broke loose on Kedarnath, and 17 of the family got washed away in the flashfloods. Only two members of the team, 68-year-old Suraj Ranjan Rathi and his brother-in-law Vinod Manti, survived the disaster. 

On Friday, they performed the 12th day ritual according to Hindu scriptures and prayed for the peace of the departed souls. They also served food to 15 Brahmins, as is the custom at any Shraddh ceremony. 

Source: The Times of India, DT. June 29, 2013.