Flood victims lauded the assistance given by the personnel of the Indian army as rescue operations intensified to save the stranded survivors in Uttarakhand.
Kamaljeet, one of the rescued flood victims, today said that the military personnel provided them with essential items in the relief camp.
"We had to face lot of problems. We stayed four days in a camp and rest of the time we were on the roads. We were stranded in Uttarakhand. The military rescued us. We had nothing to eat for whole day but then military personnel gave us everything in their cam," said Kamaljeet.
Another flood victim, Sonu, recalling the horror said that a large number of people were still stranded, and added that damage worth millions has taken place.
"Many people are still stranded over there and they are being rescued slowly. I think damage worth millions has taken place. Thousands of vehicles including four-wheeler, two-wheeler had swept away and many people died in front of our eyes," said Sonu.
Meanwhile, another flood victim Kusmawati Pathak, who was rescued from Kedarnath, was elated to meet her relatives in Uttar Pradesh's Chandauli District.
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She also hailed the efforts made by the concerned authorities to rescue them.
"We spent our days by sitting in the temple and then the helicopter came and provided us with biscuit, water and snacks," said Pathak.
The Indian Armed Force (IAF) has put to use some of the best military skill-sets to great effect in the flash-flood affected zones of Uttarakhand and rescued hundreds of fatigued and exhausted stranded tourists almost seven days after the tragedy struck the Kedar Valley.
The Army on Sunday evacuated all 1000 stranded pilgrims in the mountain folds around Jungle Chatti in Kedar Valley.
In Uttarakhand, aerial rescue have been today affected in Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Pithoragarh and Uttarkashi districts due to bad weather and rains.
The Uttarakhand Government has said that about 7000 pilgrims are stranded at Badrinath and Govindghat in Chamoli district and 2000 at Harsil area in Gangotri region of Uttarkashi.
Former Union Home Secretary VK Duggal, who has been appointed by the Centre, to look after the coordination among agencies involved in relief and rescue operations has expressed satisfaction over the evacuation operation conducted by the Army, ITBP and NDRF.
Duggal told the media in Dehradun that operational issues have been discussed with officials and if any additional help will be required, it will be raised before the Centre.