Pilgrimage to the Himalayan temples of Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri resumed on Wednesday with the weather clearing up across Uttarakhand.
The pilgrimage to Badrinath, however, could not resume as the Pipalkoti-Joshinath-Badrinath stretch of the national highway remained blocked at several places due to a landslides, Chardham Devasthanam Board Media incharge Harish Gaud said.
As the weather improved, pilgrims waiting at different stopovers on way to Kedarnath began reaching Sonprayag to visit the temple. Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was also among 4,475 devotees who visited Kedarnath on Wednesday.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday announced acfinancial assistance of Rs 5 crore for Uttarakhand which has been badly hit by rains.Khattar spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over the phone and assured him of all possible help from the state. He said that the entire Haryana stands with the people of Uttarakhand in this difficult hour. Apart from financial assistance, relief material including tents, ration kits, clothes and medicines will also be sent by the Haryana government.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur also had a telephonic conversation with his counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami and assured him of all possible help from the state.
Three people were killed and hundreds were marooned as torrential rains lashed Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly and Pilibhit districts over the last two days, officials said on Wednesday.
The Sharda and Deoha rivers are in spate due to heavy rainfall and many villages situated on their banks have been flooded.
Around 500 villagers in Pilibhit are trapped in the flood water of the Sharda river.
On Tuesday night, the Pilibhit district administration sought the help of the Army for rescue operations and 26 people have been airlifted to safer places since Wednesday morning. (PTI)
The Dalai Lama on Wednesday wrote to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressing his deep sadness about the loss of lives and the hardship caused to many people following heavy rainfall in the hill state.
Forty-six people have died and at least 11 remain missing due to rains that battered Uttarakhand for over two days since Sunday night and some are still feared buried under the debris of collapsed houses in its aftermath. (PTI)
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday visited the flood-affected areas in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur and distributed relief material among the people.
Instead of an aerial survey, Naqvi undertook a ground survey and even got on a boat to reach far-flung areas inundated due to the massive rains that have wreaked havoc in adjoining Uttarakhand. (PTI)