Pune: 24 Friends from Manchar Missing After Uttarkashi Cloudburst; 149 Tourists from Maharashtra Stranded in Uttarakhand

Pune, 7th August 2025: A group of 24 school friends from Manchar’s Awasari Khurd village, who had embarked on a Char Dham pilgrimage, have been untraceable since Tuesday following a cloudburst and heavy rainfall in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. The group had reunited after 35 years for the spiritual journey, but all communication with them has been lost since Monday evening.

The group, part of the 1990 Std X batch from a local school in Awasari Khurd, had begun their journey on August 1 from Mumbai and were scheduled to return on August 12 via Delhi. Several of them currently reside in cities like Mumbai and Pune.

Ashok Bhor, one of the group members, last spoke to his family around 7 PM on Monday while they were approximately 10 kilometers from Gangotri. “Since then, none of their phones are reachable,” said Bhor’s son, Aditya. “We’ve tried contacting all of them multiple times, but the phones remain out of network.”

According to data released by the Maharashtra State Disaster Management Department, 149 tourists from the state are currently stranded in Uttarakhand. These include 76 from Mumbai, 17 from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 15 from Pune, 13 from Jalgaon, 11 from Nanded, five from Thane, four each from Nashik and Solapur, three from Malegaon, and one from Ahilyanagar.

An official said, “About 61 tourists from Mumbai are confirmed safe and are currently taking shelter at Hanuman Ashram. However, nearly 75 individuals have not been contacted yet as their mobile phones are either switched off or out of coverage.”

Malhari Abhang, a batchmate who opted out of the trip after recently visiting Kedarnath, shared his concern. “I had a video call with them on Monday afternoon. They had even posted updates on social media while heading toward Gangotri. But since then, there’s been complete silence.”

Family members remain anxious. Mahendra Jangam, whose sister Samruddhi from Mumbai is part of the group, said, “Authorities say everyone is safe, but none of us have been able to reach them. Until we speak to them directly, we can’t be sure.”

Taking note of the incident, Baramati MP Supriya Sule posted the group’s details on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and urged the Maharashtra and Uttarakhand governments to ensure their safe rescue and return.

An official from the Pune District Disaster Management Office said that efforts are ongoing to establish direct contact with the group. Meanwhile, the Nanded disaster management team confirmed that 11 pilgrims from the district, who departed on August 1 for the Kedarnath-Badrinath Yatra, are safe.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar issued a statement on Wednesday assuring that the Maharashtra government is in constant coordination with officials in Uttarakhand. “All necessary steps are being taken to ensure the safe evacuation of stranded tourists from the state,” he said.

Rescue and relief efforts in Uttarkashi are underway, but challenges remain due to landslides, washed-out roads, and erratic weather conditions hampering connectivity in the affected region.