Bhubaneswar: Four Kanwariyas from Odisha’s Keonjhar district got stranded at Kedarnath in Uttarakhand following a cloudburst and landslide in the hill state on July 31.

The Kanwariyas, three from Telkoi area and one from Sadar area in Keonjhar, had offered holy water to Lord Kedarnath on July 31. They were supposed to leave Uttarakhand the next day.

However, the Kanwariyas got stranded at Kedarnath as the road connecting Sonprayag and Gaurikund along with a bridge was washed away due to cloudburst and subsequent landslide in the night hours of July 31.

The Uttarakhand government has launched an operation to rescue around 2,000 pilgrims stranded at Kedarnath. The authorities have deployed several choppers as part of the rescue operation.

However, the authorities are yet to evacuate all the stranded pilgrims. The prevailing bad weather at Uttarakhand has been reportedly affecting the rescue operation.

The Uttarakhand government revealed that the local administration has distributed food among the stranded pilgrims and steps are being taken to evacuate them at the earliest.