Dy CM Shinde intervenes to help tourists from Maharashtra stranded in Uttarakhand

Mumbai, July 1 (IANS) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on Tuesday, stepped in to provide helping hand to the Marathi tourists stranded in Uttarakhand hit by heavy rains and landslides.

He has requested the Uttarakhand government to provide assistance to the Marathi tourists stranded there due to landslides and road closures.

"The Devbhoomi Uttarakhand has been experiencing heavy rains for the past few days. Due to the torrential rains there, rivers have flooded heavily and roads have been closed due to landslides. In this regard, around 150 Marathi tourists have been stranded in Jankichatti village of Yamunotri Dham in Uttarakhand since June 28. As the landslides on their way back washed away the roads, it is likely to take another eight days for the situation to return to normal. Therefore, the Marathi tourists had requested the Maharashtra government to help them. Taking note of this demand, I spoke to Akash Jadhav, a tourist stranded in Uttarakhand, over the phone and asked him about his concerns and assured him that all possible help," the Deputy Chief Minister said during his media interaction at the sidelines of the ongoing monsoon session of State Legislature at Vidhan Bhavan.

Deputy CM Shinde said that he also spoke to Parag Dhakate, who works in the Chief Minister's Office of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, over the phone and requested him to immediately provide food grains and necessary assistance to the stranded tourists.

"The Uttarakhand government also responded positively and told that the road will be restored as soon as possible and assistance will be provided to the stranded tourists. The Uttarakhand government is currently trying to control the situation assuring that arrangements will be made to reach the stranded tourists in Maharashtra as soon as possible to send them back," he added.

--IANS

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