Uttarakhand: Passengers stranded due to landslides across Adi Kailash Yatra route in Pithoragarh rescued through helicopters

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], September 15 (ANI): Passengers stranded at different places in the Adi Kailash Yatra route blocked due to landslides in Pithoragarh district were safely rescued through helicopters on Sunday, said an official release.
According to an official release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), "Under the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, most of the passengers stranded at different places in the Adi Kailash Yatra route blocked due to landslides in Pithoragarh district have been safely rescued through helicopters. The passengers staying at Narayan Ashram will be rescued by heli service."
As per the release, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami himself monitored this rescue operation and was directed to run a warfooting operation to evacuate the passengers safely.
The local administration, NDRF, SSB, Uttarakhand Police, and Chipsam Aviation Company conducted a war-footing rescue operation and brought the passengers safely to a safe place.
The Chief Minister praised the District Magistrate Pithoragarh, SSP Pithoragarh, as well as the NDRF, SSB, and Civil Aviation teams for the successful conduct of the rescue operation.
Chief Minister Dhami said that the safety of the passengers is the top priority of the government, and the government is fully committed to ensuring that passengers from the country and abroad can travel in a safe environment.
Meanwhile, Secretary Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Vinod Kumar Suman reached the State Emergency Operations Centre for the third consecutive day and personally monitored the rescue operation.
"Recently, passengers from Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Delhi had left for Adi Kailash Darshan. Due to heavy rains on September 13, the Adi Kailash Yatra route was closed due to landslides at Chaitaldhar and some other places near Tawaghat. Due to this, ten passengers from Punjab and one passenger from Delhi got stuck in Khela," stated the release.
"At the same time, 30 passengers from Tamil Nadu were stuck in Budi. As soon as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami got information about the Adi Kailash route being blocked due to landslides and passengers being stranded, he directed the Secretary of Disaster Management and Rehabilitation to run a campaign on a war footing to evacuate the passengers and rescue the passengers by helicopter," it said.
Under the instructions of the Chief Minister, Secretary Disaster Management and Rehabilitation, Vinod Kumar Suman, District Magistrate Pithoragarh launched a campaign for heli-rescue of the passengers.
On Sunday, 10 passengers from Khela were taken to the Army helipad in Dharchula through helicopter service. One of the passengers in this group, Swadesh Nandchahal, died due to ill health, whose body was taken to Dharchula.
On the other hand, 30 passengers from Tamil Nadu stranded in Budi were safely rescued and taken to the Army helipad in Dharchula. Some people are still staying in Narayanashram, who will be rescued tomorrow through helicopter.
According to the local administration, the travel route will be made operational in two to three days. A lot of debris has come due to the landslide in Chaitaldhar.
The BRO team is working on a war footing, and the route will be opened soon. (ANI)