The torrential rain and flood that caused a deluge in Uttarakhand over the past few days have affected many from Bihar.

Hundreds of people, including senior BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey, had gone to the northern state for pilgrimage but Mother Nature had other plans. Heavy rainfall, followed by landslides, damaged many bridges and paralysed road connectivity, hindering the return of people back home.

Choubey, who had gone in a group of 15 people, was rescued from Kedarnath Mandir, located at an altitude of 3,584m on Tuesday and airlifted to Guptkashi in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand.

Sources said that he was admitted to a private hospital at Guptakashi for injuries to his head and legs, which he suffered inside the temple.

“Choubey had left for Uttarakhand from Patna with his wife, two sons and their wives, two grandsons and a few other relatives on June 11 by train. He reached Badrinath on June 13 and Kedarnath on June 14, when the flash floods occurred. He was trapped inside the temple with his family for the next four days and it was only during Tuesday’s rescue operation that he and his family members were airlifted to safety by a helicopter,” said Rameshwar, an aide of Choubey.

Rameshwar added that Choubey’s two grandsons were getting washed away by floodwaters but were saved by his daughters-in-law. Sources also said that till Wednesday evening seven persons from Choubey’s 15-member group were missing. Choubey’s brother-in-law Subodh Mishra, a Unicef employee in Patna, could not survive the calamity. Mishra’s body was found on Wednesday, while his wife’s whereabouts was not known till the filing of the report. All efforts to contact Choubey proved futile, as his cellphone remained switched off throughout Wednesday.

Apart from Badrinath and Kedarnath, people from Bihar were stranded at many other pilgrimage spots in Uttarakhand. A group of 52 people from Bhorey block in Gopalganj district are also stranded at Jankichatti near Yamunotri in Uttarkashi district for the past five days.

Harindra Mishra (52), a government school teacher from Tiwari Chakiya village in Bhorey said the local administration is providing no support to stranded people.

“We are totally on our own. With no support from the government, people are staying in private hotels that are charging Rs 400-1,500 per day. Most of us came here on a limited budget and because of these unforeseen expenses, our pockets are almost empty now,” said Mishra.

Mishra and others had offered prayers on June 14 at Yamunotri, which is situated 7km uphill from Jankichatti. They are stranded since then.

Vyasji, the secretary of Bihar disaster management department, said the state government does not have any information regarding people from Bihar missing or dead in the Uttarakhand deluge.

Tour operators in Patna, on the other hand, said no bookings for pilgrimage in Uttarakhand have been cancelled following the deluge. “We have bookings from two groups for the Chaar Dham yatra in Uttarakhand. It would start from Patna on July 15. Despite the calamity, no bookings have been cancelled yet,” said Raman Jha, manager of Super Travels, Patna.

Around 70,000 pilgrims bound for the Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are possibly stranded in Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts of Uttarakhand with the Chaar Dham yatra having been suspended because of massive landslides and damage to the road network.