4 Pilgrims From Odisha Stranded On Rain-Ravaged Trek Route In Kedarnath Rescued

Bhubaneswar: Four pilgrims from Odisha’s Keonjhar district stranded at Kedarnath in Uttarakhand after massive landslides following a cloudburst, were rescued safely by Indian Army on Sunday.

“The four pilgrims from Odisha’s Keonjhar were rescued safely from Kedarnath. They will reach Haridwar railway station by road and commence their homeward journey,” the Odisha government said in a statement.

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 limits and Rushinath Mahant (28) of Kempasada village under the jurisdiction of Sadar police.

The four were scheduled to return home on August 1 after worshipping at Kedarnath temple on July 31. However, they got stuck there as the trekking route between Sonaprayaga and Gourikund was washed away after sudden cloudburst, and a bridge was severely damaged due to landslides on the night of July 31.

Following instruction from the government, Keonjhar district administration stayed in touch with the stranded devotees. Keonjhar Collector Vishal Singh also spoke to Rudra Prayag Collector and requested him to take necessary steps for their safety.

While more than 9,000 pilgrims stranded in Kedarnath, Gaurikund and Sonprayag areas were earlier rescued, operation to evacuate another 1,000 was resumed on Sunday after some improvement in the weather, reports said.