Amritsar family was stranded in Uttarakhand forests for 2 nights

Amritsar, Punjab: Amritsar resident Gurvinder Singh, along with members of his family, heaved a sigh of relief when they reached ISBT 43 on Wednesday. The family has returned from the flood affected areas of Uttarakhand after suffering from days of ordeal.

Carrying his injured son Arshdeep in his arms, Gurvinder recalled the horrors that it had experienced. His ten-year-old son was in pain, with a swollen knee, and was immediately taken for medical aid.

Gurvinder Singh, along with his two sons Arshdeep and Armandeep and wife Simranjeet Kaur, left for Hemkund Sahib on June 13 from Amritsar.

Unable to reach Hemkund Sahib, they had only arrived at Gobind Dham when tragedy struck.

At Gobind Dham, the family was forced to stay under shelter for four days after the tragedy happened.

Gurvinder blamed lack of management for the chaos. He says that the authorities at Gobind Dham closed the shutters of the community kitchen and they were forced to eat just once a day.

“The helipad was two kilometers from where we were. We used to visit it daily in the hope that we will be airlifted. But the hopes were shattered. The authorities then told us that the road to Gobind Ghat had opened. However, this was not the case and we stayed for two nights in forests. Lack of food and the cold weather 0made the situation worse,” he says.

Gurvinder said that the force with which the river flowed was so great that the earth seemed like it was shaking.

During the time that the family was in the forest, Arshdeep fell from a mountain and sustained injuries in his right knee. The child then fainted in terror.

The family still had to keep going and at some places, even used ropes to make its way through. Gurvinder urged that help be provided soon to families stranded in the area.

Source: The Indian Express