A group of tourists visiting Nainital said they were stranded in a state roadways bus after the connectivity to one of Uttarakhand's popular gateways was snapped due to flooding and landslide following incessant rain.
According to tourists, they were rescued by the Uttarakhand police after Collector of Nashik district in Maharashtra raised alarm.
Speaking to ANI, Ashish Holder, a tourist from Maharashtra's Nashik said, "We were a group of 27 persons. We come to Nainital from Maharashtra. On October 18, it started raining heavily. We had a reservation to leave from here, so we went to the bus stop at 7.00 pm."
Holder said the bus could not leave for its destination because of bad weather and possibility of landslides.
"It was raining continuously. The water level kept on increasing here, so much so that even the tire of the bus was submerged," he said.
Another tourist informed that people who were stranded in the bus contacted the Nashik Collector for help.
"We had a roadways bus parked here. The authorities allowed us to sit inside the bus. There were 15 women and 13 men with us (including the driver). After that, we spoke to the Nashik collector from there and he told the administration here. Following this, the police came, and helped us," he said.
Akash, who was also a passenger on the stranded bus toldthat due to heavy rains, shops were closed leading to food crisis.
"After the rain in Nainital, there was a crisis of even food. All the shops in the vicinity were closed. Food prices had gone up. We found it difficult to buy meals for ourselves," he said.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakhs for the families of 46 people who died due to heavy rains in the state.
The Chief Minister said that a relief amount of Rs 10 crores has been released for every district and the officials have been instructed to re-open roads that have been blocked due to heavy rains. Efforts are also on to evacuate and rescue the tourists stuck in various parts of the state."
( With inputs from ANI )
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