Uttarakhand Floods: Jayalalithaa bringing back stranded Tamil Nadu travellers free of cost

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa on Saturday said that an estimated 399 travellers from Tamil Nadu were stranded in Kedarnath and Badarinath in Uttarakhand, and added that arrangements are being made to airlift them by helicopter and plane back to the state free of cost.

A media note issued by the Tamil Nadu Government said that these travellers were on pilgrimage and had been affected due to the cloud burst and land slide,and were unable to return home.

Jayalalithaa said that she has ordered that each and every one the travellers from Tamil Nadu who are stranded in Kedarnath and Badarinath area will be brought to Tamil Nadu by helicopter to Dehradun and by flight from Delhi to Chennai free of cost.

Meanwhile, a high level committee has been constituted by the chief minister to coordinate the rescue operation.

Headed by Special Representative to the State of Tamil Nadu at Delhi S.T.K.Jaggaiyan , Additional Chief Secretary and Commissioner of Revenue Administration T.S.Sridhar and the Secretary to Government Revenue Department of Tamil Nadu Gagandeep Singh Bedi, the committee has been asked to handle the rescue co-ordination by camping in Dehradun and Haridwar.

This team is in Haridwar from June 20 with a team of officers to assist.

A 24-hour helpline is functioning at Tamil Nadu House New Delhi, (01124193455, 01124193456 and 1070 a toll free number in Chennai) to provide guidance, information and assistance to stranded travellers and their relatives.

So far, 275 travellers of Tamil Nadu have been brought to Tamil Nadu House, New Delhi, and they are currently accommodated in it. They are being provided with food and medical assistance.

A medical camp with government doctors form Tamil Nadu has been set up exclusively for the purpose in Tamil Nadu House, and all activities are being supervised by Principal Resident Commissioner Jasbir Singh Bajaj.

A reception officer is accompanying the travellers up to Chennai, where they are being received by state government ministers and escorted to their homes in government buses.