Uttarakhand, India (June 27, 2013): After what seems to be never ending rainfall and the overflow of rivers, thousands of devotees have been left stranded looking for a safe haven to avoid the torrential flow of water. In an instant, hundreds were swept away by the flash floods.
Kedarnath was most severely affected in relation to the devastation of human life as thousands are feared dead. Damage to property and infrastructure has crossed into many crores. Areas of Gaurikund, Rudraprayag, Govind Ghat and surrounding municipalities have been inflicted with heavy damage to transportation routes which has greatly curtailed relief efforts as vehicles could not enter the city safely.
United Sikhs AID team quickly formalized and executed its strategy of relief operations. Rishikesh has materialized into the base camp for the entire rescue operation since June 23rd. With little rest, the team started the strenuous upward journey to Joshimath of bringing food, water and first aid to over a thousand
devotees.
“All the devotees have left Joshimath in good health and spirits since the distribution of the emergency supplies. The situation here is under-control now. As always, United Sikhs will continue to provide direct aid and assistance in the spirit of our Gurus,” said United Sikhs rescue team lead, Amritpal Singh.
As of now, the estimated number of lives lost has surpassed 5000 and the damage to property is still not clear, but will run into thousands of crores (billions of dollars).