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This Article is From Jul 08, 2013

Uttarakhand: At the bus station, a son's endless wait

Dehradun: The Uttarakhand government announced on Monday that 4045 people are officially missing in the aftermath of the flash floods that struck the state on June 15. 70-year-old Narayan Dalvi and 62-year-old Janabai from Pune are among those.

For their 30-year-old son Amol Dalvi, who reached Dehradun on June 20, it's a frantic search to find their whereabouts.

He wakes up at the crack of dawn, goes to the bus station in Rishikesh, scans every bus and returns disappointed. The next day, his desperate search begins all over again.

"There is not a single bus that I haven't searched in the last three weeks. I'm checking all the details they (government centre) have here on the lists, but I can't find what I'm looking for," he tells NDTV.

Amol's relatives call him every day, in anxiety and in anticipation, but his replies haven't changed since the first day he got here.

His parents were part of a group of 46 other pilgrims who decided to start their Char Dham yatra from Kedarnath, unlike most others, who begin with Yamunotri.

He last spoke to his parents on June 15 when they were on their way to Kedarnath from Fata.

Since he reached Dehradun, he has visited every hospital in Rishikesh, Dehradun and Haridwar.

"A lady called to tell me that she had seen my parents. I sent her their photos so she could verify it. She said she met them at Jungle Chatti. If in spite of all these leads, I go home and stop looking for them, I'll be letting myself down," says Amol.

The bus stand that once was full of anxious relatives like Amol, is now empty.

He recollects the time he saw a bus full of rescued pilgrims and remembers the tearful reunions. With a prayer on his lips, he leaves the bus stand, wishing the new day comes with a new ray of hope.
 

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