Pilgrims from AP being sidelined in rescue ops: Chandrababu

Alleging that pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh are being discriminated against in the rescue operations, TDP has requested the Centre to arrange extra helicopters to airlift 400 pilgrims from the state stranded at Harsil near Gangotri in Uttarakhand.
In a letter to Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, party chief N Chandrababu Naidu said, "I visited flood-ravaged Uttarakhand and spoke to affected pilgrims from AP. They have narrated the discriminatory treatment meted out by the rescue teams. Though coupons were issued, pilgrims from AP were not airlifted from relief camps."
The former Chief Minister requested the Home Minister to arrange extra helicopters.

"As more than 400 pilgrims are still stranded at Harsil for more than four days now, I request you to arrange extra helicopters to airlift them to New Delhi at the earliest," Chandrababu said in the letter.
The TDP has arranged a special aircraft to bring back the pilgrims from New Delhi to the state, he said.
The TDP leaders today organised a meeting at the party office here to condole the deaths of pilgrims in Uttarakhand.

The NTR Memorial Trust is raising funds to help the victims as well as the devastated state of Uttarakhand. The trust has already sent a team of doctors with medicines to provide medical aid to the affected pilgrims.

Trustee Nara Lokesh appealed to people and corporates to donate for the cause.
Also, teams of the trust have been positioned at major railway stations in the state to assist the pilgrims returning from Uttarakhand and New Delhi.