As many as 3,500 pilgrims stranded at Gobind Dham in Uttarakhand have been safely evacuated and brought back, either to Gobind Ghat or Joshimath, with the active cooperation and joint efforts of the district administration of Joshimath, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the state team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
Disclosing this here on Monday, senior IAS officer A.S. Miglani, the head of the special team deputed by the Punjab government for the evacuation of pilgrims from Gobind Ghat and Gobind Dham en route to Sri Hemkunt Sahib, said all the pilgrims struck at Gobind Dham have been rescued and moved safely to Gobind Ghat and Joshimath.
He said nearly 1,500 pilgrims have been evacuated from Gobind Dham by helicopter and the remaining 2,000 were made to cross the makeshift bridge between Gobind Ghat and Gobind Dham on foot to reach Gobind Ghat.
The Joshimath district administration has accorded top priority to bringing back women, children and aged persons by helicopter while others, especially the young, were asked to return to Gobind Ghat on foot.
However, about 35 to 40 youth stuck at Gobind Dham on Sunday refused to return to Gobind Ghat on foot and insisted on evacuation by helicopter. Consequently, they were brought back on a special helicopter Monday morning. Mr Miglani said not even a single pilgrim was left behind at Gobind Dham and that all of them have returned to Gobind Ghat or Joshimath from where they are to proceed to their respective destinations in Punjab either by their own vehicles or Punjab Roadways buses. Mr Miglani added that all the pilgrims who returned back Gobind Dham would be sent back to Punjab Tuesday morning.
