Swaraj asks Shinde to evacuate pilgrims from Uttarakhand

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj Tuesday urged Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to take emergency measures to evacuate pilgrims stranded in Uttrakashi following flash floods in Uttarakhand.

Swaraj spoke to Shinde by phone. The minister assured her of doing the needful. "I have just spoken to Shinde and requested him to requisition army and air force helicopters and rescue the pilgrims immediately," Swaraj wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.

"He assured me that he will do the needful at the earliest," she added. Torrential rains led to flash floods, cloud bursts and landslides in the sub-Himalayan region, killing as many as 31 people and stranding thousands on the annual Char Dham Yatra that takes pilgrims to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath.