About 60 tourists were rescued from Chopta in district Rudraprayag on Thursday while the local police were making efforts to evacuate another 20 stranded visitors.
The operation began on Wednesday with the Rudraprayag police rescuing 15 tourists. The rescued tourists, from Delhi, Jaipur, Noida, and Gurgaon had come to Uttarakhand on a vacation. So far, 75 tourists have been taken to safer locations. Chopta witnessed heavy snowfall this week and the tourists were stuck at various locations.
Ukhimath’s Police Inspector Hoshiyar Singh Pankholi said, “Today, the police rescued about 60 tourists, another 20 are stuck at Chopta. We have deployed snow cutter for removing snow from the highway.”
Chopta is popularly known as “mini-Switzerland” and tourists visit this place during winters to enjoy snowfall and view the snow-covered peaks. The recent snowfall thrilled the visitors but they got stuck in and around Chopta after the road connectivity got affected. Heavy snow had accumulated on road, disrupting the movement of vehicles. In the two-day rescue operation, tourists were rescued from Baniakund and Dugalbitta.
Heavy snowfall has also affected power supply in many villages in Uttarakhand. Power supply remains disrupted at Gaurikund (Rudraprayag), Harsil (Uttarkashi), Pokhri, Auli, Nimola, Doltu, Mehargoan, Silpata (all in Chamoli), and many villages in Munsyari (Pithoragarh). Efforts were on to restore the power supply.