40 return home on TDP-arranged bus

Vijayawada: The fortunate survivors of the flash floods at Kedarnadh in Uttarakhand returned to the city during early hours on Tuesday. They reached home by the bus provided by the Telugu Desam senior leader Kesineni Srinivas. As the bus reached the TD office of Kesineni Srinivas behind the police control room, dozens of the relatives and family members of the survivors reached there and the area resounded with cries at the reunion. The relatives held their loved ones in their arms expressing the joy or their return while the survivors held their family members. "There was no help to us at any stage. We have struggled and survived by the grace of the God," said B Satish Kumar, as he stepped out of the bus along with other pilgrims. There was shock visible on their faces despite the reality that they have come back to the city and were standing right in front of their relatives and family members. B Lakshimi Mangatayaru from the city recalled those horrifying days at Kedarnadh. She said that they were 19 who reached Kedarnadh on June 15. "We were so happy that we could walk through the snow hills feeling the cold on one side and with the greatness of the God. We were lodged in the third floor of the hotel on the day. As we were enjoying the tour, the hotel manager rushed to us asking us to look for safety as the flood was set to hit them," she recalled as tears rolled down. She further said that the hotel was hit by high speed flood water mixed with boulders razing the three-storied building. "We held some iron rods of the building and kept hanging there for one day with great difficulty in the midst of the debris," she recalled. The bus had brought 40 passengers who belonged to the city and its suburbs besides from Mangalagiri and other places in Guntur district.