GURGAON, July 3, 2013: With rescue operations in Uttarakhand drawing to a close on Tuesday, families of 15 pilgrims from Hailey Mandi in Gurgaon, who have been missing since the flash floods hit the hill state, are praying for a miracle.

The missing people belong to four different families and had gone on a pilgrimage to Kedarnath.

“We last spoke to them around noon on June 16. They were in Kedarnath and they told us they would stay there for a couple of days more as it was raining heavily. With the rescue operations in Kedarnath over now, we have lost hope of them returning alive,” said Subhash Gupta, a relative of a missing person..

Gupta said some people from the town had gone to Uttarakhand to search for them but they returned empty handed. “We are just hoping for a miracle now.”

A group of 21 pilgrims, including a 10-year-old girl, had gone to Kedarnath. While six of them, including two drivers of the vehicles in which they went, returned home, there is no news of the others.

“Four of them who are old along with the two drivers had stayed behind in Gaurikund and returned. But the 15 others, who went up to Kedarnath on mules, have been missing,” Gupta said.

“Even those in Gaurikund had a close brush with death. Just before their hotel was swept away in the rains, they had managed to shift to safer places following a timely warning,” Gupta added.

Those missing from Hailey Mandi are Brij Mohan Singla, his wife Santosh, granddaughter Shribati, Ashok, Asha, Geeta, Santosh Goel, Ramesh Goyal, Bal Kishan Vashisht (a reporter from Hailey Mandi), his wife Som Lata, his elder brother Ram Krishan and Ram Kishan’s wife Chander Kala, former municipal councillor Shanti Devi and her husband Shankar Lal.

Three more missing pilgrims -- Tara Devi, Duli Chand and Champa Devi -- belong to Wazirabad village of Gurgaon.

Deputy Commissioner P.C. Meena met the grief-stricken families on Tuesday and assured them help from the administration.

SOURCE: The Hindu, DT. July 3, 2013.