Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel speaks to Uttarakhand CM to provide necessary assistance to pilgrims

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had a telephonic conversation with his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami to provide necessary assistance to the pilgrims from the state, who are stranded there due to natural calamity and rains, informed the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on Tuesday.

The Gujarat Government's Emergency Operations Centre had announced helpline number (07923251900) on the instructions of the Chief Minister so that the pilgrims who are trapped there can be contacted and other information can be obtained.

"The relatives of Gujarat pilgrims stranded in Uttarakhand will be able to give and get details of loved ones on the number," it said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take stock of the situation arising due to heavy rains in the state.

According to the Chamoli district administration, 2,500 devotees, who had gone to Badrinath, are still stationed at the Badrinath Temple waiting for the highway to re-open.

However, the rain continues to lash the state and Badrinath received fresh snowfall this morning.

As a precautionary measure, the Badrinath Char Dham Yatra has been halted, and passengers en route to Badrinath Temple were stopped in safe places.

The water level in the Nandakini River has also rose significantly raising an alarm. As per Meteorological Centre Dehradun, Chamoli received 19.8 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours.

National forecasting agency -- India Meteorological Department -- has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand with a forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the state and heavy rainfall has been predicted for the next few days.

Earlier, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister took detailed information from officials concerned about the situation of excessive rainfall in the state. He has been taking stock of the situation from the disaster control room of the state's secretariat.

( With inputs from ANI )

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