As many as 30 Tamil Nadu pilgrims stranded due to landslides in Uttarakhand have begun returning home and the first batch of 13 have taken a flight to Chennai this morning, Cuddalore district collector Sibi Adithya Senthil Kumar said on Tuesday.
Of the pilgrims, 13 have taken a flight to Chennai, while two boarded a flight to Coimbatore from Delhi and two others took a flight to Bengaluru, the collector told PTI.
The remaining 13 have boarded a train and will arrive in Chennai on Wednesday. These pilgrims were stranded due to landslides about 18 km from Adi Kailash while returning after darshan.
They were unable to move from the spot and had to stay in an ashram for two days before being rescued by helicopter and brought to Dharchula in Pithoragarh district through the intervention of the Tamil Nadu government on September 15.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, who spoke to the stranded people hailing from Cuddalore district, assured them all measures to ensure them a safe return home. Adi Kailash, also known as Shiva Kailash, is a mountain located in the Himalayan mountain range in Pithoragarh district.
“They are all safe. The state government has made arrangements for their stay in Delhi and also arranged for their train tickets,” the collector said. Asked if any of the passengers got in touch with him, Kumar replied, “a couple of them called me on Sunday and even on Monday and thanked the district and state administration for the arrangements and safe return home.”