By Dhruvi Shah
The Manimahesh Yatra in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, was called off due to inclement weather referred to as heavy rains, landslides, and flash floods. The safety of the thousands of pilgrims stranded during the yatra was a deciding factor.
Rescue efforts began as soon as possible with NDRF and SDRF searching for stranded pilgrims to transport them back to a safe destination, but the yatra took a turn for the worse with 16 devotees perishing because of the natural disasters. Seven people perished while performing the Manimahesh Kailash Parikrama and the other nine died at various places on the pilgrimage route.
As for the district administration represented by Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Repswal, they have begun their process of returning thousands of pilgrims safe and sound. The total rescued and taken back to the safe place was over 6,000 during the rescue efforts over the last three days. The rescue operations faced delays due to private vehicles, including cars, taxis, and buses operated by the Himachal Road Transport Corporation, which were transporting people to Pathankot and Nurpur. Mukesh Repswal urged devotees and the public to pay attention to only maps for reliable information and avoid starting rumors. “Our teams have reached every affected area. The safety and assistance of devotees is our top priority.” he added. (Reported by Times of India)
Relief operations were faced with serious challenges resulting from bad weather and damaged roads. Helicopters scheduled to transport pilgrims from Sachui to Gaurikund could not take off because of adverse weather. Although there were obstacles to the relief operations, relief teams, police, medical teams, and langar committees collaborated to allow the safe movement of pilgrims.
The Manimahesh Yatra that began on 16th August and continued until 31st August was in adverse weather. The state government has estimated the total losses due to the disaster at ₹2,774 crores.Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has requested the Central Government to provide a special disaster package for the affected families.