Harsil, Uttarakhand:
Our helicopter landed near the Harsil army camp at 2 in the afternoon on Monday, June 24. The flash floods and 10 days of incessant, torrential rain had made the 74-km stretch of road between Harsil and Uttarkashi unmotorable. Only choppers could reach.
Between Gangotri, 25 km from Harsil, and Uttarkashi, there were almost 200 landslides, we were told. Pilgrims making their way down from Gangotri camped at Harsil and were then being sent on choppers or were trekking down a make-shift route to the Dharasu air strip. They were then flown to Uttarkashi.
When we reached Harsil, there were about 1,300 people at the relief camp. A few were
waiting to board helicopters. They had been given tokens - green, red, blue and white to indicate how they would board. The green batch would go first.
Rations for the week had just arrived and the army men were distributing food supplies.
After a short visit to the medical camp, we set off in an Army jeep to Gangotri. We would normally cover the 25 km in half an hour. Now, it took us double that time. And only army jeeps could motor down the route which was damaged every two km. We passed a village where the local temple, a 20-feet high building called Kalpkedar mandir, was half submerged in silt.
At Gangotri, however, the main temple was unharmed, though right next to it were big boulders. A stream which apparently runs past the temple had changed course. If it hadn't done that, the temple facade could have been damaged and lives could have been lost, the locals said, insisting that it was the holy River Ganga that saved them.
The temple, intact but isolated, told a story. The middle of June is peak tourist season and on another day it would have been bustling with people. But after last week's mammoth floods all guest houses are closed. Shops have not opened for days. We found a few tea shops open but those would only cater to temple administration and army men who live close by.
We returned to Harsil at 8 in the evening. People were crowded near the army base where a giant screen beamed news channels for the stranded pilgrims. The army commandant said this seemed to calm them. That after seeing that people had fared far worse in other parts of Uttarakhand, they felt safer. The people at the camp concurred, saying it reassured them that the government was doing its bit.
At 8.30, an Army commandant addressed the people and answered questions. Most people wanted to know when their token would turn green from red. So they could go home.
The senior Army man patiently answered every question, his voice hoarse by the time he finished.
Dinner was served at 9 pm - khichdi, and dal roti. Basic, but prepared in vast quantities to feed the nearly 1,500 people.
All the jawans had vacated their rooms in the camp and had even given up their blankets to accommodate those stranded. We would sleep there too. Even the army museum and the archive room were now being used to house those stranded.
We woke up to rain today. An Army jawan brought tea with a wry smile and the message that choppers were unlikely to come to Harsil today. But they did, after about four hours as the skies opened for some time.
The first whirring of chopper blades was the sweetest sound to the people at the camp.
When we left there were still a 1000 people waiting to be evacuated. The Army said they might get a few more people who were trekking out from the higher regions. But most of the women, those who were ill, and the elderly had been sent back. If the weather cooperated, they said, everyone would be out in two days.