Mumbai, Aug 6 (IANS) As many as 51 tourists from Maharashtra stranded in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, after heavy rainfall and cloudburst are safe, said officials here on Wednesday.

According to the State Emergency Operations Center, of the 51 tourists, 11 are from Nanded district and 40 from other districts.

“The Maharashtra government is ready to provide necessary assistance to the tourists stranded in Uttarakhand and is contacting the tourists. For this, the state government is in communication with the Uttarakhand Disaster Management Centre and Uttarkashi District Disaster Center, and efforts are being made through Maharashtra Sadan, Delhi, to shift the stranded tourists to a safe place. Instructions have also been given to the district administrations of the state. The situation is continuously monitored,” said the State Emergency Operations Centre in a release.

The citizens and their relatives have been requested to contact on phone numbers: State Emergency Operations Center, Maharashtra: 9321587143 / 022-22027990 / 022-22794229, State Emergency Operations Center, Uttarakhand: 0135-2710334 / 821.

Meanwhile, NCP(SP) working president and MP Supriya Sule has requested Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his office to provide necessary help to 24 citizens from Manchar, Pune district, stranded there.

In her post on X, Sule said, “Around 24 citizens from Manchar, Pune, Maharashtra are stranded in Uttarakhand due to the recent cloudburst. Their families are extremely distressed as there has been no contact with them for the past 24 hours. Requesting Hon @pushkardhami ji and @ukcmo to kindly intervene and help rescue them at the earliest.” She has also given the names and phone numbers of 17 of the 24 people stranded there.

According to the Uttarakhand government, teams of the Army, ITBP, and NDRF are involved in relief and rescue operations in Uttarkashi’s Dharali. The Army is closely observing the devastation with the help of drones so that the people trapped there can be rescued in any way.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday reached the cloudburst-hit Uttarkashi region and met the families of those affected by the devastating mudslide, triggered by flash floods.

He reached Dharali village, where he took stock of the situation, and later said, “Due to bad weather, road connectivity to several areas has been cut, and bridges have suffered damage. It is becoming difficult to reach affected people very quickly, and help, rescue, and relief efforts are underway.”

“Ten Deputy Superintendents of Police, three Superintendents of Police and 160 other police officials are involved in the rescue operations, said Chief Minister Dhami.

“The Disaster Operations Station in Dehradun is working 24 hours to provide all possible assistance,” he added.

–IANS

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