HYDERABAD, July 4, 2013: With the wait for 81 missing pilgrims from AndhraPradesh becoming excruciating with every passing day, relatives of several of them have begun to lose hope. A few families in some districts including Vijayawada have reportedly performed prayer and condolence meets for their loved ones, who, they have come to believe, are no more.

However, officials from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) categorically stated on Wednesday that they will not report anyone dead until they find the body and identify the person. "We cannot say a person is dead until it is confirmed and DNA samples have been matched. Till then, we can only say they are missing and continue to hope for miracles," an official said.

The official said one such miraculous escape in Uttarakhand was of 50 pilgrims from Guntur who were traced after over a week of combing operations. The group is now on its way back home, he said.

With villages on a stretch of around 14 kilometers covering Gandhi Sagar, Rambada and Jungle Chatti areas getting washed away in the deluge, sources said that no one really knows how many people were in the area. Sources added that they are not ruling out the possibility that the missing pilgrims from this stretch were washed away to the deepest point of the Ganges. "This could be the reason why several of them are still missing," said the official. As many as 2,782 pilgrims from the state were stranded in Uttarakhand when the floods struck over a fortnight ago.

Sirisha Sharma, whose sister, father and mother have been missing since June 16, said her husband was in Dehradun and nearby areas for ten days but failed to trace her family. "I don't even know if they are dead or stranded somewhere," she said. Sharma said the situation has reached a stage that government officials, who are part of the rescue operation, are calling her up to check if she has heard from her missing family members. "I get calls from the Hyderabad collectorate asking if I have heard from them. If they themselves seem to have given up hope, then all we can do is pray," she added.

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 4, 2013.