The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), apex body of Sikhs, on Saturday dispatched two-dozen vehicles, including ambulances, to Dehradun to assist the ongoing rescue operations in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.
"Mini buses, SUVs and ambulances have been sent to the hill state," said SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar. "A team of doctors is on way to Dehradun."
The SGPC had also organised langar (community kitchens) for the stranded pilgrims, Makkar told reporters here. He also referred to Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal's cutting short his foreign trip and reaching Dehradun. "The CM is in touch with the Sikh pilgrims in Hemkunt Sahib and others," he said, lauding the role of the army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and other forces in the rescue operations.
600 rescued from Govind Dham
More than 600 pilgrims rescued from Gurdwara Govind Dham on Friday had to spent night along the banks of river Alaknanda, as they could not cross it, the vice-chairman of Shri Hemkunt Sahib Management Trust, Narinderjit Singh Bindra, has said. The operation to get pilgrims out of the gurdwara received a setback on Friday evening when the ITBP's temporary bridge over the river broke.
Two temporary helipads made on both sides of the Alaknanda at Gurdwara Govind Ghat have given a place to army two helicopters to airlift the stranded pilgrims to help them cross the river. Nearly 70 pilgrims are still stuck near Gurdwara Govind Dham.
{{/usCountry}}Two temporary helipads made on both sides of the Alaknanda at Gurdwara Govind Ghat have given a place to army two helicopters to airlift the stranded pilgrims to help them cross the river. Nearly 70 pilgrims are still stuck near Gurdwara Govind Dham.
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