Six of Meghalaya family missing in Uttarkhand

Six members of a Shillong family, on a pilgrimage to the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand, have gone missing in the flood-ravaged state and their relatives have not heard a word from them for the last seven days, a family member said Friday.

The missing were identified as Shigan Agarwal, 80, Kasturi Devi Agarwal, 70, Satya Narayan Agarwal, 58, Hiramani Agarwal, 50, Mahabir Prasad Agarwal, 47, and Saroj Agarwal, 45.

"The last time we had telephonic conversation was June 15 - the day they reached Kedarnath from Badrinath, but it is seven days now and they have not communicated with us or informed us about their location and well-being," Anju, daughter of Mahabir Prasad Agarwal, told IANS.

"We don't know where they are now. Their cell phones have been switched off and we are eagerly waiting for them to give us a call but that too is not happening," she said.

However, Anju said her husband and brother are now camping in Dehradun in a bid to trace the missing family members.

"We are hoping that my husband and my brother will meet them in Dehradun," she said.

The Meghalaya government is yet to receive any official communication from Uttarakhand about the missing persons.

"As of now, we are not aware of the six family members missing in Kedarnath, but once they informed us, we will speak to the Uttarkhand government to help them in finding out their whereabouts," said Sanjay Goyal, the district magistrate of East Khasi Hills.

Landslides and flash floods in Uttarakhand, after the heavy downpour over last weekend, left about 60,000 people stranded and at least 207 people dead.