4 From Odisha Stranded In Landslide-Hit Kedarnath; Govt Initiates Steps For Their Safe Return

Bhubaneswar: Four persons from Odisha’s Keonjhar district are stranded at Kedarnath in Uttarakhand after massive landslides following a cloudburst.

Official sources said that the state government has initiated steps for the rescue and safe return of the four persons. Following instruction from the government, Keonjhar district administration has been in constant touch with the stranded devotees.

Keonjhar Collector Vishal Singh has spoken to Rudra Prayag Collector and requested him to take necessary steps for the safety of the four devotees.

Rudra Prayag Collector has assured Singh that the four will be shifted to a safe place tomorrow if the weather improves.

As per reports, the devotees have been trapped for the last three days. Four stranded devotees include three from Telkoi and one from Sadar police station area in Keonjhar.

They have been identified as Sadanada Sahu (35) of Jagmohanpur village, Kartik Khilar (44) of Saruali village, Maheshwar Pradhan (54) of Chandrashekharpur village under Telkoi police station and Rushinath Mahant (28) of Kempasada village under the jurisdiction of Sadar police station.

The four were scheduled to return home on August after offering worship at Kedarnath temple on July 31. However they got stuck because of rough weather and landslides.

The Kedarnath highway between Sonaprayaga and Gourikund was washed away after sudden cloudburst, while a bridge on the route was severely damaged due to landslides on the night of July 31, the sources added.