Rishikesh (Uttrakhand), June 26, 2013: The teams of Punjab Police leading the rescue operations in Uttarakhand to save thousands of lives were proving a boon for the stranded Pilgrims of Punjab and other states as the teams not only evacuated stranded pilgrims but got them reached at the base relief camp of Punjab Government at Gurdwara Sri Hemkunt Sahib Mangement Trust, Rishikesh. The Punjab Police rescuers were evacuated Pilgrims from Gobind Dham, Gobind Ghat and Joshi Matth and lifted them to Rishikesh in its buses.
Adding another feather in its cap the rescuers of Punjab Police today reached the Rishikesh Gurdwara along with 61 devotees of different areas of New Delhi, who later on dispatched to their homes in Punjab Roadways Roop Nagar Depot bus. All the pilgrims were from the Karol Bagh area of New Delhi, who had reached at Gobind Dham on June 15 around 7am and they were struck there due to heavy floods in the area.
Telling the tale of their woes, student of B.Com Simran, who along with her family too went to Gobind Dham, said that there were thousands of Pilgrims at Gobind Dham when they all reached there. She said that immediate after their arrival the bridge near Gobind Dham collapsed resulting in troubles for the pilgrims. She said that they all struck there for 8 days and once they have lost the hope of their safe return.
Simran said that it was Punjab Police, who not only saved them but also lifted them out to Rishikesh in their own buses. She said that the Rescue Teams of Punjab Police brought them to Joshi Matth, where they had been feeded with langar, dry fruit and other eatables and provided medical assistance.
Harinder Singh, a pilgrim from Noida who was also gone to Sri Hemkunt Sahib along his family members, said that they were lifted out to Rishikesh by the rescuers of Punjab Police and brought here safely. He said that teams of Punjab police travelled a total 260 kilometer extra run due to heavy landslides on the way to Rishikesh between Srinagar-Chamoli road.
After their arrival at Rishikesh Gurdwara, the Officers of Punjab Government provided a separate bus to the Delhi pilgrims. The bus of Punjab Roadways Roop Nagar Depot would leave them at New Delhi.