Lost in hills for 4 days, dramatic rescue brings NCR boys home

DEHRADUN: When Shriyesh Sridhar, a 22-year-old software engineer from Delhi, set off on a trek to the forests above Dodital in Uttarkashi with his two Gurgaon-based friends, 21-year-old Tapovrat Tuteja and Abhishek Sood, 22, the only thing on his mind was to capture on camera the majestic beauty of the Himalayas. Little did the three friends know that their adventure would quickly turn into a nightmare and a struggle for survival, stuck in the chilly heights as they were for four agonising days.Patchy communication and low visibility only made matters worse.
The group had come to Uttarkashi on December 25 and left on a trek to Dodital the next day. The trio reached Dodital, at an altitude of 3,307 metres, on December 29, using a mule track to reach the forest of oak, deodar, rhododendron and pine.
From Dodital, passing through Darwa Pass, it is a two-day trek to Hanuman Chatti. It is after crossing Darwa Pass on December 30 that the three lost their way due to sudden snowfall and the corresponding low visibility caused by bad weather.
“We asked local residents we encountered on the way for directions to Hanuman Chatti. But the snow-covered route had rendered things difficult for us. After realising that we were going around in circles, we decided to remain stationed at one place until the weather improved,” said Tuteja, who spoke to TOI over phone after the group was rescued on Tuesday in a dramatic effort by a crack team of SDRF personnel and local police officers.
Dadanpal, superintendent of police (Uttarkashi), who said the path used by trekkers near Darwa Pass is often covered by snow during this season, added, “The trek route was covered by snow which made it difficult for the boys to figure out the directions. There is no mobile network there so they could not contact anyone.”
As their families, hundreds of kilometres away, worried about not being able to contact their kin, Tuteja and his friends were busy chalking out their survival strategy. It was not just the biting cold that had to be dealt with but food that had to be rationed and wild animals kept away. “It was scary, knowing that we would have to spend countless nights under the sky with limited provisions. Thankfully, we had sufficient food in our backpacks and we used it judiciously,” said Tuteja, who lives in sector 14, Gurgaon.
The friends weren’t novices when it came to trekking, and it was the prior experience of such journeys that kept them from panicking. “We tried to keep ourselves warm by lighting a fire in the night. We would take turns to sleep in the tent and keep a lookout for animals,” Tuteja said.
While nights were spent in fear of wild animals, the mornings and afternoons meant venturing into the nearby forest, hoping for a signal on their smartphones. The days of suspense and anxiety finally came to an end on Monday when Tuteja saw some activity on the signal bars of his phone. After a few misses, the call went through and Tuteja was able to talk to his family and give an idea of their location.
A rescue team was quickly formed, consisting of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and police personnel, and they traced the location of the trekkers after much struggle, finally bringing them to safety to Barkot. Sridhar’s father, Sridhar Krishnamurti, CEO of an IT company in Delhi, also reached Uttarkashi on Monday and was in touch with the rescue team.
“The three boys are safe and doing well. They will be taken to Uttarkashi town on Wednesday after which they will leave for Delhi,” said Dadanpal.