Manju Warrier, film crew stay put in Himachal village 'at own risk'

Malayalam superstar Manju Warrier along with her 35 member team is still staying in a remote village in flood-hit Himachal Pradesh and waiting for a damaged access road to be repaired, a member of her team said on Tuesday.

Ganga Ram, a team member of the film crew stranded at a Himachal village acknowledged that they were contacted by authorities to leave the area but were staying at the place at 'their own risk'.

"We have packed up our luggage keeping in view the weather here. We will leave for Manali as soon as a road in Gramphu area is repaired. Meanwhile, if we face any difficulty, the administration will not be responsible for it," Ram, wrote in a note to the police.

When authorities along with police went to the village in Lahul-Spiti district to rescue the film unit and bring them to Manali, the crew refused to leave the place after which, the police asked them to give their statement in writing.

"The administration has been asking us to leave Chhatru for the last four days. We will be fully responsible if any untoward incident happens during our stay", the team gave in writing to the police.

The team, consisting of 11 locals, had gone to the scenic village to shoot a documentary along with filmmaker Sanal Kumar Sasidharan.

Warrier had reportedly reached out to her brother after an access road to the Mandi-Leh highway collapsed due to landslip, leaving her and the crew stranded.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Ramesh had on Tuesday said that Warrier along with her team was being rescued from the place where they were stranded.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan, also stated that he had spoken to Thakur who assured him about the evacuation efforts of the actress and her film crew.

As many as 63 people lost their lives in the region this monsoon season, the Chief Minister confirmed on Tuesday.