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Disaster-hit pilgrims suffered after being fleeced by traders
Locals treated them as source of quick buck
Overflowing rivers swept people away: Survivors |
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'Gurdwara officials abandoned
us'
‘Curious’ Congress keeping close watch
Madhopur memorial built at Advani’s behest
Emotional reunion in
Patiala
Resumption of pilgrimage unlikely this season
Pilgrims still shaking in fear, thank god for safe return
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Locals treated them as source of quick buck
Chandigarh, June 22 The visitors were treated as a source of easy money. The cost of all essential items, particularly food and water, rose manifold. A ‘parantha’ that otherwise cost Rs 10 went as high as Rs 50. A bowl of boiled rice was also being sold at almost the same price. The survivors were at the mercy of the taxi drivers. They were being charged around Rs 15,000 for a 250-km journey from Joshimath to Rishikesh; the normal fare is around Rs 4,000. Jaspal Singh of Kapurthala, who underwent throes of agony but managed to return to Chandigarh, said the locals deceived them when their support was needed the most. “They (locals) fleeced us as much as they could. We were treated as a source of fast income,” he said. Harmeet Singh, another pilgrim from Kila Raipur in Ludhiana, said, “I spent two days without food as all my belongings got washed away. To my shock, the residents were virtually auctioning cooked food, selling it to the one who could pay the most.” Having no money to hire a taxi from Joshimath to Rishikesh, Harmeet was lucky enough to be rescued by the Army.
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Overflowing rivers swept people away: Survivors Mohali, June 22 Jatinder Kaur, Harbans Kaur, Harjinder Kaur and Gurjit Kaur had gone in a group of over 60 people, including 15 children, and they shudder to think as to what happened to the others. Harbans Kaur with tears in her eyes says, “I don’t know whether the others are dead or alive.” The four had a narrow escape when the school they had taken shelter in was buried under a landslide as soon as they left the building. Jatinder Kaur recalls, “It started to rain when we reached Joshimath. So we took shelter in a school that didn’t have any power or water. Since, the rain did not stop, we left the place. As soon as we came out, a big rock fell on the building.” Gurpreet Kaur from Hoshiarpur, too had gone to visit Gurdwara Hemkund Sahib, along with her two sons-Agam Singh (5) and Dilpreet Singh (6). A distraught Gurpreet Kaur said, “We did not get food for two days. Nobody helped my children. They are traumatised now and refuse to speak. It was terrible witnessing buildings, vehicles and people being swept away by the violent rivers.”
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‘Gurdwara officials abandoned us’
Faridkot, June 22 Recounting the tale of horror, destruction and human apathy, Master Faghan Singh and Dr Kanwarjeet Singh said the natural disaster not only ravaged the hill state but also hurt the psyche of thousands of Sikh pilgrims who suffered due to indifferent attitude of the authorities. Besides making false claims in the media, these authorities had done nothing, alleged Master Faghan Singh. "On June 15, flood water uprooted the power transformer at the gurdwara and damaged the generator sets. It was dark and scary. Instead of helping the pilgrims, gurdwara officials preferred to escape to safer places," alleged Master Faghan Singh. Speaking over the phone Chand Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Channa Singh and Raju Singh, all of Faridkot who are still stranded at Gobind Ghat, said except armed forces jawans, no one extended a helping hand to them.
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BJP tries to put up united face
Amritsar/Pathankot, June 22 The BJP is claiming it will be its biggest ever rally in the state with thousands of workers from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir expected to participate. A waterproof pandal, measuring a massive 22,000 square feet, has been erected near the Ekta Sthal, the rally venue at Madhopur, while large screens are also being put up to enable people to view and listen to their leaders. The party says it has space constraints at the venue, but still they have made sitting arrangement for 18,000 people and are trying to extend it to 20,000. Assistant media adviser, Punjab Government, Vineet Joshi said they had also made arrangements for lunch for around 50,000 people, apart from ensuring drinking water facility. Additional ‘pandals’ are also being erected to accommodate more public as the party is expecting a massive turnout. Punjab Industry Minister Anil Joshi said a cavalcade of 150 buses will leave for Madhopur from his Amritsar-North constituency tomorrow to attend the rally. Batala BJP president Suresh Bhatia said they would be ferrying workers in nearly 60 buses and 200 cars (from Batala). The party is expecting 12,000 supporters from Sujanpur constituency alone. Around 15,000 party workers from far-flung districts like Ferozepur and Moga are expected to reach Pathankot by today evening. The BJP, though marred by factionalism, is making all efforts to put up a united face in tomorrow’s rally at Madhopur. Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma chaired a meeting of party leaders at a Pathankot hotel today in which the list of dignitaries who will sit on the dais with Modi was decided. However, the list is being kept under wraps for the time being. Top BJP leaders also claimed that Modi will refrain from announcing the party’s candidate for the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat. “There are many contenders. Any announcement at this stage will do more harm than good,” claimed a senior functionary. Though the function is being held in the Assembly segment of Deputy Speaker Dinesh Babbu, it is Pathankot legislator Ashwani Sharma who has been made overall in charge of the proceedings. At the time of filing this report, hectic confabulations were on among the senior leadership to identify the dignitaries who will be at the airport to receive Modi. Talking about the programme, he said Modi will land at 11 am and reach the rally venue after garlanding Shyama Prasad Mukherjee's statue at the Ekta Sthal in Madhopur. After the rally, he will attend a 'VIP lunch' at a nearby resort and hold a meeting with the top BJP leaders of the state before flying off around 4.30 pm. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab BJP affairs in charge Shanta Kumar, BJP chief Kamal Sharma, all BJP ministers and MLAs will be present.
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‘Curious’ Congress keeping close watch
Chandigarh, June 22 The rally is expected to set the tone for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) campaign for the 2014 general election. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was among the first non-BJP leaders to join the NDA 15 years ago, will also address the rally. Congress leaders said even the high command was closely monitoring the developments. “The gathering at the rally does not matter. As the BJP is in power in Punjab and Pathankot (rally venue) is its stronghold, the party can manage a huge crowd,” said a Congress leader. “But what concerns us is the agenda that Modi will adopt. Being the election campaign committee chief, his speech will set the tenor for the BJP’s Lok Sabha battle. For, the BJP has already put all its eggs in Modi’s basket,” he said. Will Modi toe the BJP’s old Hindutva line for which he is known? Or will he play safe and follow the middle path by avoiding an aggressive stance on controversial issues so as to enhance his acceptability among parties opposed to his hard-line posture? Whatever stance he adopts, it is sure to become a subject of national debate. “We are certain Modi will be hawkish against the Congress and will not mince words as far as targeting the UPA Government is concerned. His other focus areas will be scams under the UPA regime, terrorism, national security, unemployment and youth,” said a BJP leader. As the country’s younger generation has been showing interest in Modi, he would try hard to woo the youth by raising issue of unemployment, he said. Political observes say Modi, being a shrewd politician, will also harp on development, the agenda that has seen him retain power in Gujarat for a record third consecutive term.
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Madhopur memorial built at Advani’s behest
Jalandhar, June 22 Dr Mukherjee had entered Jammu and Kashmir from Madhopur in 1953 to protest against the permits needed to enter the state then. Kalia said, “After getting Advani’s call, I talked to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who gave his approval to build the statue.” Subsequently, Ram Sutar built the 18-feet-high statue in over a year, Kalia said. The statue was formally unveiled by Advani and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on March 20, 2010. Significance of date, venue
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Emotional reunion in
Patiala
News, June 22 Their reunion with family members even wetted the eyes of onlookers who gathered there to listen to their tale of survival. An elderly couple, who survived incessant rain that swept away everything on way to Hemkund Sahib, said they had lost all hopes to unite with their family members, but God had been extremely kind to them. "We along with hundreds others remained stranded at Gobind Dham for three days. A number of our fellow pilgrims had swept away in flood water. We survived on langar from the gurdwara. We were airlifted some three days later and landed safely at Joshimath," said Sarabjeet Kaur. Her husband Sant Pal Singh said: "We were shocked to find that taxi drivers and autorickshaw operators were charging Rs 12,000 from Joshimath to Chamoli. Since we had no option, we paid the money. No Uttarakhand official approached us. It was all because of the Army that we are alive".
Woman back with kids, husband still stranded
Lakhwinder Kaur (35) from Mohali, who reached Patiala with her two children, said her husband was still stranded near Gobind Ghat. She said she had never seen so much destruction in her life. "Rabb ne baah farhke taar dita, nahi te asi ta har manni baithe saan (God helped us sail across. We had given up hope)," she said. Lakhwinder said she along with her children reached Gobind Ghat on mules while her husband was following them when a bridge between them collapsed and they got separated. It was only yesterday she got a message from her husband that he was safe and had walked down till Gobind Ghat. "Those three days were worst part of my life. We had been hearing about a lot of deaths in nearby areas. All I wished was to unite with my husband".
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Resumption of pilgrimage unlikely this season
Amritsar, June 22 Sri Hemkund Sahib Trust member Ranjodh Singh said the flash floods had caused extensive damage to Gobind Ghat Gurdwara as also the bridge connecting the shrine with Gobind Dham. Besides, the parking lot at the gurdwara and two bridges at Gobind Dham had been washed away. The ‘langar’ facility and a 25-room ‘sarai’ (inn) at the gurdwara have also suffered damage. In view of these facts, the possibility of the pilgrimage’s resumption is bleak this season, he said. Ranjodh Singh said the gurdwara's generators had also been swept away in the floods while various rooms on its premises were filled with slush. He said the day the tragedy struck, a sewadar of the gurdwara had alerted the pilgrims on the public address system of the shrine.
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Pilgrims still shaking in fear, thank god for safe return
Bathinda, June 22 Pilgrims who saw people drowning in water and buildings collapsing like a pack of cards were still shaking with fear. Except for some minor bruises, all the 50 pilgrims reached home safe. Jagmeet Singh from Harraipur village in Goniana Mandi said: "We remained stuck at Govind Ghat for four days. We saw heavy vehicles, a bridge, and buildings being washed away in gushing flood water," Jagmeet said. He said many vehicles parked in low lying areas were also washed away. “The Army jawans helped us a lot. They offered us food, water and shelter," he said. Mahinder Kaur, a resident of Bhucho Mandi said she along with three others were brought down from the flood-hit mountainous terrain by Army jawans. MPs, MLAs donate one month’s salary Chandigarh: All state MPs and MLAs belonging to the SAD-BJP combine have decided to contribute one month's salary towards relief operations in flood ravaged Uttarakhand. An official spokesman today said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had convened an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday. ‘Shops vanished within seconds’ Amritsar: Natwant Singh, a resident of Golden Avenue, who returned from the pilgrimage, said they were returning on June 16 when heavy rains washed away the bridge near Gobind Dham and the adjoining shops. He said the shops vanished from the spot within no time. "We somehow reached Gobind Ghat. There was panic among the people”. Barnala: All 18 pilgrims from Barnala villages, who had gone to Hemkund Sahib and were reportedly missing since June 17, are safe. Ten of them today returned to Dhanaula in a PRTC bus, while one returned on his own this morning. Barnala Deputy Commissioner Indu Malhotra said the remaining seven pilgrims were safe. ‘Will return to thank those who helped’ Mandi Ahmedgarh: Having witnessed horrifying scenes of large-scale destruction in flood ravaged Uttarakhand, three local families today reached here safe and sound. Bhavesh Joshi, a class III student, said: "We will go there again after things become normal as we want to thank all those who helped us in crisis".
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Human greed was at its worst in the flood ravaged areas of Uttarakhand where the local populace tried to cash in on the helplessness of the stranded pilgrims.
News, June 22
