Keonjhar: At least four kanwariyas from Keonjhar district have been stranded in Uttarakhand since Wednesday night following landslides triggered by a cloudburst at Kedarnath shrine. Three devotees are natives of villages under Telkoi police limits while another hails from an area under Sadar police limits. They have been identified as Sadananda Sahu, 35, of Jagmohanpur village, Kartik Khillar, 44, of Saruali village, Maheswar Pradhan, 54, of Chandrasekharpur village under Telkoi police limits and Rushinath Mohanta, 28, of Kempasada village under Sadar police limits in Keonjhar district.
All of them had planned to perform rituals at the Kedarnath shrine July 31 and return home by the next day. However, all their plans were left frustrated due to the landslides triggered by a cloudburst. The highway leading to the shrine and a bridge in between Soneprayag and Gourikund were washed away in the cloudburst and accompanying landslides disrupted all communications on the route. They were left stranded on the route leading to the shrine as the weather conditions deteriorated.
The district administration is in contact with the persons. One nodal officer has also been deputed to oversee their safe return to their homes. All of them are safe and will return after weather conditions improve, Keonjhar Collector Vishal Singh said.