Dharali: A long-awaited reunion of 24 childhood friends from Pune's Awasari Khurd village turned into a nightmare as the group remains untraceable after the devastating cloudburst near Dharali in Uttarkashi.
The friends, who were all part of a 1990 Std X batch, had come together after 35 years for a Char Dham Yatra; however, they went off the grid on Monday evening (August 4).
'Phones Unreachable Since Monday'
The group, which reportedly began their journey on August 1 from Mumbai, was last heard from around 7:00 pm on Monday when they were about 10km from Gangotri, stuck due to fallen trees and minor landslides. Since then, family members have been unable to contact any of them. “Their cellphones are not reachable,” Aditya Bhor, son of group member Ashok Bhor, told The Times of India.
The situation has also left families distressed, especially as disturbing visuals of the disaster flood social media platforms. “Despite assurances, we haven’t spoken to anyone personally. Everyone is anxious,” said Mahendra Jangam, whose sister Samruddhi is part of the group.
Maharashtra Tourists Stranded; Rescue Efforts Underway
Additionally, the Uttarakhand cloudburst left at least 149 tourists from Maharashtra stranded, including 76 from Mumbai and 15 from Pune. While some are confirmed safe, like the 61 from Mumbai currently at Hanuman Ashram, nearly 75 remain uncontactable.
Authorities confirmed that 11 tourists from Nanded are safe and expected to return soon. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar assured that the Maharashtra government is in continuous contact with the Uttarakhand administration and is actively coordinating rescue efforts.
Baramati MP Supriya Sule also raised an appeal on X (formerly Twitter) to expedite tracing the missing tourists.
