The State government has said it is doing its best to locate and rescue pilgrims, including a group of monks from the Sivagiri Mutt here, from flood-ravaged Uttarkhand.
“We hope to reach out to the monks by tomorrow,” Minister for Culture and Non-resident Welfare K.C. Joseph told newspersons here.
Eighteen monks from the mutt were among 75 pilgrims from the State stranded in Uttarkhand. Health condition of at least two monks was a matter of concern. Ten other pilgrims were unaccounted for.
Rescue efforts
The State’s resident commissioner in New Delhi had been despatched to Haridwar to coordinate relief and rescue operations on a war-footing, the minister said.
Neither the State nor Central Government would be found wanting on this front, the minister said in the context of the sit-in protest staged in front of the Secretariat here by peer monks from the mutt.
They had alleged delay and lack of coordination in rescue and relief efforts in what had turned out to be one of the worst natural disasters in the country’s history.
Leader of the stranded monks had said that no help from the government was forthcoming despite repeated requests to Central and State ministers.
He had also said that the army had conveyed inability to intervene unless a written request was made by the government authorities.
The minister drew the attention of the monks to the continuing inhospitable weather in Uttarkhand which made evacuation efforts very difficult.
MORE RAINS
Helicopter sorties in the region had been hit with the latest bout of rains and minor landslides. Given this, he requested the monks to call off protests.
The minister had said on Monday in Kottayam that the State government had several limitations in providing aid and relief to the stranded.
“It is impossible to pick and choose Keralites from the crowd and provide them aid,” he had said.
He was in touch with Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappaly Ramachandran.
vinson.kurian@thehindu.co.in